Love Live: Tales of the Lost Heir
by Zenritch
Summary: Ayase Eli thought that her time as an Idol was over... but when a talented producer suddenly appears during an unexpected reunion of the former μ's members, she is presented another chance to live her dreams. However, certain organizations are after her life due to the long-guarded secret of her family. Meanwhile, a certain spy arrives that holds the key to her safety and identity.
1. Prologue: Altered Accounts

Love Live: Tales of the Lost Heir

Prologue: Altered Accounts

Moscow, Russia

1600 Hours

Inside the historic walls of the stone fortress known to many as the Kremlin, a lone figure sporting pale blonde hair and an equally pale complexion made his way through the boundary separating the areas where tourists are normally allowed towards the area designated only for authorized personnel. His unremarkable appearance doesn't give of any clues whatsoever that he has ties with the secret world behind the Russian Government since to the average joe, he looked nothing more than any ordinary boy in his late teens. That's why those who caught a glimpse of him entering a door with the sign "Authorized Personnel Only. Violators will be apprehended" written in bold red font were surprised by his brash actions. Some think he was stupid for dismissing such an apparent warning and nonchalantly infiltrating the heart of the Russian Government while others thought he simply had a death wish. But unbeknownst to the commoners who saw him enter that door, he was actually a part of that dark world that had a firm grasp over the motherland. He was a rather high ranking officer too though it might be more appropriate to refer to him as a cleaner. However, he doesn't do conventional janitorial services like the public eye is used to seeing. Once you enter that dark world, you find out immediately that cleaning is just the sugarcoated term they prefer to substitute for the word "assassination". Yes, this unremarkable pale blond teenage boy, known as Sacha Orlenko, is actually the KGB's second best assassin. He had just returned from a job involving the assassination of a terrorist organization's leader that made a crucial mistake of attempting to set foot on the motherland and he was hoping to get a brief reprieve but ever since entering this desolate place, he had a feeling that the tides of luck wouldn't be turning in his favor any time soon.

His hunch was only realized upon entering the office of his superior, Nikola Makovich, the head of the Russian Secret Service, the KGB. As one would expect, the office of the Director was a bit grandiose. Red imported carpets adorned the hardwood floor and silk curtains were covering the windows. Several dark oak shelves were lined up against the walls of the room containing various pieces of literature from across the world, mostly in the field of military tactics and politics. There was even a fireplace behind a mahogany desk with intricate carvings. It had numerous folders containing top secret files on top of it. If a commoner were even to catch a glimpse of those folders, they would be shot on sight.

Sitting on a leather chair behind the desk was the Director of the KGB himself. The gray haired man who was in his late forties didn't even wait for Sacha to start his report. He only beckoned him to place the documents on his desk with apparent urgency.

"Listen, boy. I know we've only been sending you to "cleaning" duties lately but that will soon change with your next assignment. I am confident that you know the story about Grand Duchess Anastasia, right?"

"Everyone in Russia knows about that. Or at least everyone working in its shadows." was Sacha's brief response.

"Fair enough. But the stories were false. The Grand Duchess survived the tragedy that had befallen her family. She had managed to escape her captors, fled the country and lived most of her life in Japan before returning to the motherland when the masses were convinced that she had perished along with her family. We were thoroughly convinced of her death... that is until we found out that our predecessors had assisted in her escape and had covered up the fact that she was aliv-"

" Yeah, yeah. Cut to the chase, old man. What's the Grand Duchess have to do with my next job?"

"Long story short, she returned to the country under an alias and lived the rest of her life in peace. But someone found out that her lineage is still alive. We don't know who the enemy is but we suspect them to be the ultranationalists. Heck, if the old system is brought back, that could cause civil unrest or in the worst case scenario, civil war. We want you to make sure that her descendants are safe and secure until we eliminate the threat to their lives. We've already dispatched agents to keep a look out on possible targets within the motherland but we want you to protect those descendants outside the country. Given that these two are her latest descendants, we suspect that they are the most likely targets. "

"So who are the targets and where are they now?"

Nikola quickly handed over a brown folder to Sacha. It had the words "Confidential" written in red bold Russian characters. Upon opening the folder, he saw a picture of a very beautiful blonde female in her teens and next to her was girl that resembled the former , only that this one had sandy blonde hair instead of a brighter shade of yellow. Both of their beauties were apparent but it was the blonde teenage girl named Ayase Eli that managed to make Sacha's heart skip a beat for a second. It was quite peculiar since he had seen a lot of women in his job and gone out with some of them but he had never experienced such a reaction before. However, as strange as it was, he only dismissed it. It might be coincidental or just some other reason but the mission takes priority over anything else.

It was then that he realized who the older blonde was... how could he had not recognized her at first sight when her group's music was playing on almost every major radio station in Moscow and the entirety of Russia was watching over her every step of the way as the idol group known as Muse won the Idol Competition, Love Live. Ever since they won that competition, Ayase Eli had gained fame not only in Japan but also in her home country.

"I see... so that's how they managed to track down her whereabouts... Fame can be fatal... But there lies one obvious problem with our current predicament, comrade."

"And what's that? Enlighten me, comrade." Nikola asked inquisitively.

"There are two targets. There is one of me. I can only protect one of them at a time. The people after them could pull off something like splitting their forces. One half would make it seem like they're after the one I'm protecting while the other goes for the unguarded target. Who would I have to prioritize to protect?" Sacha asked.

"Oh we have arranged for that. I have a friend that runs a local security agency in japan. After pulling some strings, I convinced him to send one of his best employees to watch over the younger one. " Nikola said confidently as he beamed at the boy.

"Why not just ask for Ichigaya's help?"

"And let them catch a glimpse of our vulnerability? I think not. Besides, the current head of Ichigaya has a few loose screws on his head. I don't want anything to do with that agency until a more... stable leader takes its reins." Nikola insisted.

"I see... I'm assuming you haven't disclosed the entire situation to this... friend of yours."

"No. Of course not. And the only one who has been notified about this job in my friend's agency is the guy he personally selected. "

It might seem a bit unprofessional for the head of the KGB to rely on a local security agency instead of the Japanese Secret Service but Sacha didn't doubt Nikola's decisions. Many consider him as one of the best leaders the KGB ever had, himself included. He has a ton of respect for the old man, almost as much as how he respects his sister.

"Alright... When do I depart?"

"Immediately. We've already arranged everything from your gear to your transportation. We also have your alias setup. You're using your real name but you're working as a bodyguard for a rival security agency. It's perfect too since we already received word that a certain producer has been making phone calls to various security agencies in japan to get some bodyguards for that idol group when they go on tour. It's not yet official but if he manages to convince those school idols to go on tour, you could get closer to the target this way without drawing too much suspicion. " Nikola explained in an excited manner as evidenced by the glint in his eyes and the grin plastered to his face"

"Understood. Then I shall take my leave" Sacha said as he bowed politely to the head of the KGB before leaving his office.

Shortly after Sacha had left, a tall woman with blonde hair tied neatly into a ponytail entered the old man's office.

"If you're looking for your little brother, he just left for another mission." Nikola muttered to the blonde flatly, not even allowing her to speak first.

"I'm well aware of that, Nikola. I came here to remind you of your promise..." the blonde said in a grudging tone.

"Of course, of course. If Sacha succeeds in this one, then this shall be his final mission. Well, the end result will always lead to this one being his final assignment. The only thing is, if he's really gonna but heads with the ultranationalists, then this may very well be his final mission." He mused.

"Tch... I only agreed to becoming a 5-Digit agent if you'd let him go after his 13th mission." The blonde interjected.

"13th successful mission is what I had said. If he fails and survives then he just has to complete some other mission. The result is always important. The means can be overlooked if the favorable result is achieved. And the favorable result we want in a situation like this is ensuring either one of the siblings survive. Then the lineage of the Grand Duchess could continue. Of course, it would be much better if both of them were to survive but ensuring at least one of them does is our top priority, Natasha Orlenko"

"I'd also remind you that you turned me into Russia's best assassin, Nikola. I can kill whoever I want, whenever I want, where ever I want and if you don't make good with your promise, I have a bullet with your name on it." Natasha warned.

"Are you threatening your commanding officer, 13666?!" Nikola exclaimed.

"That isn't a threat..." Natasha turned away from Nikola and started towards the door. Just before she left, she finished what she was saying. " ...that's a promise."

KGB Department of Advanced Research and Technology

Instead of immediately heading to the airport, Sacha took a detour towards the Department of Advanced Research and Technology to pick up a few tools that could aid him in ensuring that the mission is a success.

An old man with unkempt gray hair quickly approached Sacha upon seeing him in his field of vision. He was wearing a white lab coat stained with various splotches from chemicals.

"Ah.. Sacha. I've already prepared everything you'll need for this mission. Since you'll be acting as a bodyguard, I'll be giving you two kinds of guns: A standard PMS and our state of the art DART Stinger. It shoots a variety of darts ranging from tranquilizers to shock darts. I recommend that you use this on a regular basis instead of the PMS if you ever encounter a threat in a generally populated area or in front of any of the girls to prevent any unnecessary side effects like scarring them for life. Though that doesn't mean you aren't allowed to kill. Just make sure there are no witnesses. We're leaving it up to you to take any course of action that you deem necessary to ensure the target's safety."

Sacha nodded solemnly at the scientist's words. He didn't mind killing others anymore, no. By now, it was already second nature to him. It was as easy as drawing breath and what's terrifying is that he no longer feels any remorse when he takes a life. That was how he was trained... to be a well-oiled killing machine deployed protect and preserve the motherland's interests.

"Roger that. Is there anything else? Knowing you, Professor Makarov, this isn't the only toy you have for me, right?" Sacha asked inquisitively.

"Well of course! If that's the only thing we have to offer, they'd be cutting our budget in half." the eccentric old scientist protested before fumbling his hands inside his coat pocket. It took a while for him to sort what he wanted to give to Sacha from all the rubbish in his pocket but he finally retrieved several button cell devices and several metallic spheres that were no bigger than a marble. However, Sacha had already used those metallic spheres in the past and they shouldn't be taken lightly.

"This little thing here that resembles a button is actually a state of the art tracking device. Upon contact with any form of clothing, it replicates the appearance of the fabric and blends with it making the device virtually undetectable to anyone including the target.

It's also waterproof and is virtually indestructible. I call it the chameleocator. And I believe you've already gotten acquainted with the spider bombs. Of course, we already prepared a safe house for you stocked with all the previous equipment you've utilized before in case you needed to make use of them again." The scientist says quite pleased with himself. " Now is there anything else you need?"

"No. The items you gave me should suffice for now. I appreciate it, doc." Sacha says reassuringly and bows in gratitude.

"Alright then. You better get going. Go and busts some skulls for me, my boy."

"Will do." Sacha waves to the scientist before leaving for a special designated airport exclusive for the use of government agents. A luxurious black Lamborghini was waiting for him outside the Kremlin and posted on the driver's seat was a beautiful blonde girl wearing sunglasses and a black suit.

"Want a lift?" The blonde said casually as if talking to a friend.

"Normally, I'll downright refuse but since I am in a hurry, I'll take you up on that offer... sis." Sacha said after letting out an exasperated sigh.

"Don't worry. You're not being a bother. I'm on my way to the airport too. I'm visiting a friend overseas. "

"You have friends?"

"Hey, that's pretty rude! Even though I'm Russia's greatest agent, that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to make friends."

"I see. I do remember, that girl, Aiko being one of your friends but the last time I checked, she was your only friend." Sacha says nonchalantly, much to his sister's chagrin.

"FOR YOUR INFORMATION, THE FRIEND I'M TALKING ABOUT WILL BE YOUR FUTURE BROTHER-IN-LAW!" Natasha exclaimed in protest.

"Either that's the best excuse you can come up to stalk me in another one of my missions or the guy isn't even aware of it."

"Kuu... you really know how to get on a woman's nerves. You'll die a bachelor at this rate." Natasha protested.

"Like I have any time for things such as romance. I already know that I won't have any luck in that department. Anyways, I pressume this guy you're talking about is in the same line of work as the two of us. Don't be too much of a bother to him, okay?"

"Kuu... being lectured by my younger brother. Have I already failed at being the older sibling?"

"You just realized that? I knew you were dense but I didn't know it was this severe... God bless thy poor soul"

That seemed to land the finishing blow for Natasha's whining as she released a tired sigh of defeat.

"Muu... I get it. I get it! I'll behave myself. But you better take care of yourself too, okay?"

"Will do. "

Awkward moments of silence pass by between the two siblings as they drove to the airport. They weren't too close to each other as they were when they were young to begin with but after a series of circumstances that forced both of them to be indebted to the Motherland and become KGB operatives, the gap between them seems to have only gotten wider with each passing day.

"So I saw the target you're assigned to protect. She's a real beauty too. Will she finally be able to crack the iron walls that are covering your heart." Natasha said in a playful tone.

"So you were stalking me after all."

"Ugeh! Th-that's beside the point! If someone's gonna steal my cute little brother from Onee-chan, then she has to pass my qualifications!" Natasha exclaimed to hide her embarrassment.

"You know, guys generally don't like it when you call them cute. Besides, since when did you have those standards? Aren't you being a little overprotective. Do you think your little brother falls in love with every beautiful girl he's assigned to protect?" Throughout this, Sacha maintains his calm and composed tone. He had already gone accustomed to Natasha's teasing that he's practically immune to it by now.

"Ohoho. So you do find her beautiful. I see. I see! Interesting." Natasha grins excitedly as if she was a struggling journalist who just found the next big scoop.

"You know, if we weren't related, I would have already asked you to be my girlfriend already." Sacha says in his usual nonchalant demeanor but his sister's reaction to it was far from discreet.

"Waah... Sacha, that's not fair! You know I'm specially weak to your teasing~ If my maiden heart completely falls for you, you're taking responsibility~" Natasha says affectionately. She abandons control of the vehicle, sending it towards oncoming traffic just to glomp her younger brother.

"Natasha, the wheel!"

Had not for Sacha's quick reflexes, their lambo would have collided against a huge fuel tanker resulting in a multi-million dollar explosion.

"You can glomp me all you want on the plane. But for the love of God, focus on the damn road!" Sacha exclaimed.

"Hehe~ I'll be looking forward to that, Sa~chan." Natasha says teasingly which instantly made the blonde male regret his words Whatever happens, he was certain that he was in for a long flight.


	2. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Otonokizaka Highschool

1:00 P.M.

It was starting to look like another fairly unenthusiastic day for the President of Otonokizaka Highschool's Idol Research Club, Hanayo Koizumi. Ever since the idol unit, μ's, disbanded not too long ago shortly after winning the School Idol Competition, Love Live, the excitement had died down for most of the students of Otonokizaka High school. Though they still are treated as celebrities among their peers, she couldn't help but long for those days spent practicing in preparation for lives.

She still couldn't believe that she had been part of μ's given that prior joining the aforementioned idol group, she had the confidence of a shrew.

Well, their initial goal in forming μ's anyways was to save the school from closing. Thanks to their efforts and achievements, there had been a great rise of student enrollments this year alone. What they experienced in their time as School Idols was just a bonus and a very sweet one at that. Not only did she get to become the very person she used to admire with such endearment in the past, but she formed friendships with people she could have never thought befriending and forged strong bonds with them. But since the third years graduated last year, they had to disband μ's.

The club remains intact, however, and there are new members such as Ayase Alisa and Kosaka Yukiho, Ayase Eli, the former Student Council President turned school idol, and Kosaka Honoka, the school idol, turned Student Council President's younger siblings respectively. They too are planning to trace their older sisters' steps and become school idols themselves. Numerous applications are always present everyday. As Club President, it's her job to filter these applications and find out which of the applicants share the same passion as all of the current club members when it comes to school idols.

She had just finished sifting through today's batch of applicants and was certain that another lazy day would pass them by. Out of sheer boredom, she opened the spam inbox of their email whilst nibbling on a rice ball. What she saw was an entire wall of mail from a single sender and all of them basiclly said the same thing. The contents of the messages were so mind boggling that she was rendered immobile, jaw hanging and all with a few pieces of rice glued to her face. She even dropped the rice ball she was munching on, which was quite rare for her given how much she treasures rice so much.

"Eh... EHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" When she was finally able to make use of her voice, those were the only words she could shout out loud. The sudden cry of astonishment was so loud that it drew the attention of the other club members.

"What's wrong, Kayochin. Eh? You dropped your rice ball. Don't worry. I'll get you a new one!" Her fellow μ's member and long time friend, Hoshizora Rin, said in a gentle voice in an attempt to calm her down.

"Yeah, what's wrong, Hanayo? It's just a rice ball. If you don't have enough money to get another one from the cafeteria, I could always lend you some." Another μ's member and a fellow second year, Nishikino Maki said in a tone that suggested disbelief.

"Huh? Why does Hanayo-chan look like she saw one of those jump scare videos that are rampant nowadays in the internet? Ohh... rest in peace, Onigiri-san. " Minami Kotori, the costume designer of μ's, and the daughter of the current principal of Otonokizaka High school muttered before closing both of her palms in prayer.

"Huh? Hanayo's feeling down... Ohh she dropped her rice ball? Quick, Rin-chan, go to the cafeteria and get her a new one. They're almost sold out!" Kosaka Honoka exclaimed to Rin urgently.

"STOP! Please stop and hear me out" Hanayo shouted at the top of her lungs just to get everyone's attention. "Please read the mail on the screen!"

At once, all of the club members shifted their focus on the screen of the computer and they reacted virtually the same way as Hanayo did.

"Hanayo... don't tell me you just read these a while ago?" Maki said incredulously.

Hanayo gives a small nod in response and everyone's faces darkened simultaneously.

"The latest email says that the guy is scheduled to arrive today. He thinks that our email's been compromised so he'll talk to us in person... he already talked to the principal about it..." Sonoda Umi says in a dumbfounded voice.

"The first email arrived a few days after we won Love Live. Don't tell me you did not check the emails for that long? No wonder he became impatient." Maki added.

"But is this guy really serious?" Kotori wondered.

"Kukuku. Of course he is. To offer us such a thing, surely he noticed just how much we can shine, specially me. After all, I am the greatest idol, Yazawa Nico!" A familiar voice interjected which caused quite a lot of uproar among the club members.

"Nico? Wha... since when did you arrive? What are you even doing here anyway?" Maki shouted in an alarmed voice..

"Muu. Is that what you're supposed to say when a friend you haven't seen in a while drops by to check on you? I may be petite but I'm not invisible!" Nico protested.

"Nico-chan! It's been a while!" Rin exclaimed as she hugged the black haired μ's member a little too tightly.

"Waah... Rin... too tight... I can't breathe!" Nico cried.

A collective laugh came from all the club members present including Alisa and Yukiho. After exchanging greetings, two more familiar faces appeared which prompted another collective gasps from the club members.

"Nozomi? Eli? What are you two doing here? Don't you have classes of your own? I can understand Nico cutting classes but not the two people that were once part of the Student Council." Umi said in an inquisitive tone.

"Well, it's the foundation week of our university so we wouldn't have any classes for the entire week. Instead of participating in the school's events, Nico suggested that we drop by and see what you guys are up to." Eli said as she breathed a tired sigh

"More like she wouldn't stop talking about visiting you guys so we had to comply but who cares about the details." Nozomi said with her trademark mischievous smile.

"Well we just need to meet him and find out. Let's hear out what he has to say before we decide on anything." Honoka suggested.

As if on cue, a series of gentle yet urgent knocks came from the club room's door. They weren't expecting anyone else since virtually everyone was already present so they were curious to see who the next visitor is.

With nervous hands, Kotori and Honoka grabbed hold of the door knob and slowly turned it. The mechanism that operated the knob seemed to click louder than usual adding to the anxiety in the air. Upon finally opening the door, mixed waves of worry and relief washed over each of the nine μ's members when they saw two people waiting by the door. One of them was Kotori's mom, Principal Minami while the other was an unfamiliar guy that looked only a few years older than the former third years. The guy sported jet black hair, gray piercing eyes and a composed businessman's smile. He was dressed in formal attire comprising of a black Armani suit, matching black trousers, and top quality Italian leather shoes. Even without an introduction, everyone was already aware that this guy is the man they've been anticipating.

"Everyone. I'd like you to meet Nakai Motoharu-san. He's a very successful Producer even at his young age and he has taken an interest in all of you after you won Love Live last year. He personally asked for permission to meet all of you and I'm quite pleased to see everyone already gathered." Principal Minami said in a very enthusiastic voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet such talented girls. As Principal Minami had said, my name is Motoharu Nakai and I'm a freelance producer that aims to give school idols a chance to gain not only national but also international recognition. My job is to give you all a stepping stone to launch your career as idols. Currently, I'm planning to start a company with a few other talented gentleman in the industry and I'd like it if μ's were to reunite and become the first idols we'll manage under our company." Motoharu said in a calm and gentle voice.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Was the response the young producer received from everyone in the room, excluding Principal Minami who had already been informed beforehand of his intentions.

"Are you serious?" Nico immediately asked eagerly.

"I'm completely serious." Motoharu replied with a composed smile.

"Bu... but why us? There are other promising school idols out there that are just as talented. A-Rise for instance." Umi muttered.

"Ever since I first watched your performances when your group was just starting out, I immediately saw the passion you displayed. Do you know the most important role of an idol? It's not just to sing, dance or perform in a crowd. Anyone can do that. The most important role of a school idol is to bring happiness to those who hear them sing and watch them dance. That's what seals the deal and completes the full package of the idol experience for the audience's perspective. It is quite a rare trait to have and that trait is evident in all your performances. Watching each of your performances delivers a feeling of genuine happiness that I have not experienced in a good long while ever since my early days in the industry... Oops... I sounded like an old man for a second there, didn't I?"

The remark sent everyone in the room laughing for a bit, serving as a reprieve from the seriousness of the situation.

"Ahem. Anyways, I am not asking you to make a decision right this instant. I know that you, as students, value your education too but if I may add, should you choose to accept my offer, we will immediately hire a capable instructor to teach you in your free time so you would not fall behind on your lectures. In addition to that, You could sign a contract with us for a year, so you could test the waters. If you like what you experience, you can sign up for another contract with us. If not, then right after your contract period, you are free to leave. This is a very great deal. If you truly wish to become Idols, then this is your gateway to that life. I want you all to think about this decision very carefully. I'm giving you a week to reflect on my offer. Now are there any more questions?" He says in his calm and gentle voice.

"We're going to get paid for this, right?" Nico immediately asks with a quizzical look on her face.

"Why, of course. That's a given. We won't ask you to go on tour for free, heavens, no. That would be unfair on your part and it would be a disgrace on our part." Motoharu immediately replies, barely losing any composure when asked by an unusual question.

"And this won't be detrimental to our education?" Umi asks with the same look on her face as Nico.

"I guarantee it. Think of it as a glimpse into the adult working world. You'll get valuable experience from this endeavor." He replies in a reassuring tone.

"Can I call you something else other than Motoharu-san? It's a bit long to pronounce on a regular basis." Nozomi asks with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Call me whatever you want. I understand that my name is quite long."

"Then it's fine if I call you Toharu-kun?"

"Feel free. If it's to your convenience. " Toharu replies nonchalantly. "Any more questions?"

"Where do I sign up?!" Nico perks up, her eyes brilliantly shining like jewels.

"Huh?"

For the first time since his arrival, Motoharu Nakai's composure crumbles like a deteriorated building demolished by a wrecking ball that was Yazawa Nico's inquiry.

"Waah.. Nico-chan, that was sudden!" Honoka exclaimed.

"Yeah. Shouldn't you think about his offer first? Don't just jump into his offer all of a sudden without weighing your decisions carefully. " Maki chastised bluntly.

"What? There's no need to think about anything. This guy has offered us a chance to become μ's again? I'm sure all of you guys miss doing live shows? Isn't this what all of us want?" Nico said in rebuttal.

This time, nobody countered her argument which prompted her to smile smugly in victory.

"I actually need all 9 of you to accept my offer. Just one, two or even eight won't do. The contract is for the idol group μ's. Not just one of its members. It wouldn't be μ's if anyone of you is missing. So you need to reach a consensus and decide as a group about your coarse of action." Toharu said politely but upon hearing his words, Nico's expectations crumbled.

"B... but..." Inaudible gibberish was what left the black haired girl's mouth as she looked down on the floor with a crestfallen expression.

"I'll come back in a week. Hopefully by that time, you can give me your response. " Toharu says as he straightens himself out and gives a respectful bow to the girls. He then turns to leave when suddenly, Principal Minami tugged at the sleeve of his suit.

"May I ask you something before you leave, Nakai-san?" Principal Minami asked in a calm yet stern expression.

"If it is something that I can answer, then you may go ahead, Minami-san."

"Can you guarantee not only my daughter but everyone's safety in the event that they accept your offer and all of their respective guardians approve of them going on tour?" She asked in a worried voice. "When my daughter joined μ's and started performing in live shows, she not only learned to make decisions for herself but she also felt the greatest happiness of her life thus far. I was hesitant at first about what would happen if I allowed my daughter to enter in such competitions but after seeing the love and support different people have given her when she's performing and how happy she was to get that support, I had decided to let my daughter choose her own path. If being an idol makes her happy then I will not stand in her way. But, like any loving parent, before I give my approval, I need to make sure that this endeavor won't put her in harm's way."

"Safety is an illusion, madam. It is a term we humans have come up with to feel secure from threats to our lives. Nobody can be truly safe. You must understand that. However, rest assure that we have taken appropriate measures to ensure the safety of your daughter from any threats be it external, internal or accidental. I've already implored the help of the best Security Agencies in the country. They're sending their elite agents to assist us. I can guarantee the safety of these girls 99.9% of the time. Please have faith in our words." Toharu replied.

"Then should my daughter choose to accept, she has my full support and approval." Principal Minami says, fully convinced, after breathing out a sigh of relief. She turns back to the Idol Research Club Room and the two go on their seperate ways.

The Idol Research Club Room, who was already starting to look a bit gloomy due to the lack of activity and enthusiasm just a few days ago was a different image to the excitement oozing from the small room now. Everyone was chattering to each other about the same thing: Motoharu Nakai's offer to debut them as Idols. There was all sorts of emotions present. Some felt anxious and uncertain about the life that awaits them once they become full time idols. Others were already coming up of scenarios and dreams of grandeur in the event that they do become a big hit as idols.

"A week to decide is a decent amount of time but I don't know if my parents would give me permission within that time span." Honoka said with an almost melancholic look on her face.

"Well, mom's been very supportive of you when μ's was competing in Love Live. I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to convince her this time around." Yukiho says in order to comfort her depressed sister.

"I'm still not so sure about this, though. Love Live was one thing, going on tour is an entirely different story." Eli said in an uncertain voice.

"But Sis, you've always been saying that you miss being a school idol at home. You should abandon all your doubts and grab this opportunity!" Alisa cheered.

"Eh! Alisa, don't go saying those things all of a sudden!" Eli exclaims while trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Ara. Elicchi, you also miss performing in front of a large crowd? " Nozomi asks in a whimsical tone.

"Kinda, yeah. What about you, Nozomi?"

"Well, if we can be μ's for a bit longer then I'm not opposed to accepting Toharu-kun's offer." She mused.

"You've already gotten familiar with him, huh?" Eli said with a suspicious look on her face.

"Well, if we're gonna be working together from now on, then we need to be familiar with our co-workers, right?" She replies earnestly.

"Waah, Nozomi-chan! You're also agreeing to accept his offer? " Hanayo asked, clearly astonished at Nozomi's doubtless response.

"Well, when μ's was still competing in Love Live, I really had fun performing Live Shows with all of you. The times we spent together practicing, the tears we shed in our difficult times and the smiles and laughter we shared during our happiest moments will always be engraved in my heart. But, if I could do that all over again with everyone, then I'll gladly accept Toharu-kun's offer. Plus, he did say that if we don't like what we experience after a year then we can just quit, right?" Nozomi said enthusiastically.

"Whoa! You really are amazing, Nozomi!" Nico cheered. She was clearly pleased to see someone on the same page as her.

"Yeah. I have to agree with Nozomi-san! I want to sing, dance and do all sorts of stuff with everyone again." Kotori said in a determined tone. She then turned to her mother who was watching the proceedings quietly with a smile on her face. A single reassuring nod from Principal Minami was all that was needed to remove any more doubts in her mind.

"Whoa! Nice, Kotori! I also have to agree. I wanna have fun with everynyan all over again." Rin announced.

"Me too. I want to become an Idol all over again. Being an idol may be a bit more difficult than being a school idol but with everyone's support, I feel that we can realize our dreams and overcome any obstacle!" Hanayo declared in a timid voice that was filled with all the courage and conviction she could muster.

"Rin... did you just say everynyan? Geez... If you guys are agreeing then I'll have to accept too. It's not like I don't want to feel left out or anything." Maki said after sighing vehemently.

"That leaves only Honoka, Umi and Elicchi to decide. Do the three of you need more time? Don't worry. We were given a week to think about this, remember?" Nozomi asked.

"Well, if it were completely up to me, sure. I'll accept. But I'll need mom's permission first." Honoka said in a disappointed tone.

"Nee-chan. You know what? I'll help you convince mom, okay? So stop sulking already. It's very uncharacteristic of the person that has an infinite supply of energy among μ's." Yukiho chided lightly.

"Really? Thank you so much, Yukiho! I love you!" As if a crate of damp fireworks being struck by a a sudden jolt of lightning, Honoka's expression suddenly lights up and she immediately glomps a startled Yukiho affectionately from behind out of appreciation.

"Waah... Onee-chan! Don't! Everyone can see!" Yukiho protested in an alarmed voice.

"Kukuku. Does that mean that we can do this when we're alone~" Honoka said in a playful voice. She was just about to start tickling her defenseless little sister when suddenly, Alisa hugs an already flustered Yukiho from the front.

"No. Stop, Honoka-senpai! Yukiho-chan is mine!" Alisa exclaims with unrestrained conviction.

"Ehh... Yukiho... don't tell me..." Honoka was giving her sister a flabbergasted and incredulous look and Yukiho was returning an alarmed and confused one.

"Sis, don't look at me like that. I'm just as surprised as you are!" Yukiho cried.

Laughter filled the small club room once again for a brief moment. Even Principal Minami could not help but chuckle after seeing the bond these girls have formed after only such a very small time period. It reminded her of her own childhood and her old friends.

"Well, I can't say that I don't want to return to being an idol... but being one of the senior members of the Archery Club, I'll be participating in this year's National Archery Competition... I don't think I can choose from either of them..." Umi said with a wistful look on her face.

Tension filled the room once again as everyone eagerly awaited Umi's response. If even a single one of them is not alright with Motoharu Nakai's proposition, then μ's wouldn't be the same.

"Then I'll just have to balance both. I cherish both being in the Archery Club and being an idol. If I have to choose between the two of them, I'll just have to pick the third option and do both. " Umi said enthusiastically.

After hearing her response, Honoka immediately released her grip from Yukiho and dive-bombed Umi. She was so driven with emotion that she kept fawning over her, much to the dark blue haired girl's discomfort.

"Kyaa! Honoka! No! You know I'm really ticklish... why are you becoming like Nozomi all of a sudden!" Umi complained.

"Well, that leaves only one of us... What do you say, Eli? " Maki asked nonchalantly.

After a long, nerve-wracking pause, Ayase Eli sighs in defeat and smiles in a contented manner.

"Count me in as well, then. I'm not missing out on any of the fun." She replied.

The entire room erupted in celebration after the final part of their group agreed to becoming an idol. There was cheering, there was excitement and there was nostalgia present in the atmosphere. Seeing the happiness that her decision brought, Eli could say that she won't regret this choice. After all, everyone, including her, wants to experience the fun, the challenges, the hardships, the laughter, the tears and the happiness all over again.

-

Author's Note

Hello! Thank you for sticking around after reading the Prologue. Since the Prologue mainly focused on Original characters, it is only rightful to direct the spotlight on the Canon Characters in this installment. Here, we saw the unexpected reunion of the Nine μ's members which seemed highly convenient and coincidental. More so, since an Original Character, Motoharu Nakai, and also precocious producer makes an appearance to give μ's a once in a lifetime offer which would let them follow what their hearts truly desire once more. Upon the consensus of all the Nine μ's members, they are now ready to step again into the world of idols. But with the added pressure of going on tour and performing for an entire nation, will their resolve be enough to endure the challenges ahead of them? Find out in the next chapters!

Now it's time to put down my pen for now and work on the next installment.

I hope we'll see each other again in the next chapter!


	3. Chapter 2: General Assembly

Chapter 2: General Assembly

Akihabara District, Tokyo

1900 Hours

It's been almost a day since Sacha Orlenko arrived in Japan to carry out his mission. Right now, he is to meet with the Producer of the idol group μ's' tour, Motoharu Nakai, along with the legitimate bodyguard he hired from Nikola's friend's Security Agency. After they had touched Japanese soil, Natasha vanished without so much as a goodbye... not that he needed to hear her say them in person. He understands that his sister had more pressing matters to deal with. After all, every second counts when you're in this particular line of work.

"I hope I could somehow coexist with the people I'm going to have to work with. There's going to be a lot of staff needed for a nationwide tour but I'll probably only need to interact with important figures." Sacha mused.

Within a few minutes, his destination came into view. Compared to the numerous other skyscrapers in the surrounding area, the gray 5-story building owned by Motoharu Nakai is modest in size but it's still quite spacious for "a company that's just starting out". Of course, he had heard about how talented the precocious producer who "employed " him is but this is pushing it.

Upon entering the building, Sacha couldn't help but become a lot more impressed. It was not due to the structure of the building itself but the presence of the person who supposedly "hired" him greeting the blonde agent with a warm smile on his face.

"You didn't need to go out of your way to meet a mere bodyguard yourself, Mr. Nakai. " Sacha addressed the black haired guy wearing a formal suit and an equally businessman's smile. If he had no intel regarding Motoharu Nakai's actual occupation, he would have mistaken him easily for a successful businessman.

"No need to be so formal. I believe in giving all of my employees the same level of treatment. It would be unfair to you if I do not show the same level of hospitality to you as I've done with the others, Mr. Orlenko. " Was Motoharu's casual response.

"Hm... So you're saying I'm the last one to arrive? I apologize for the delay. I had to deal with some issues regarding my family. My sister can sometimes be a pain in the ass to deal with, Motoharu. And you can call me Sacha. You said something about equal treatment right? So it wouldn't be fair if I address you in the first name basis while you address me formally. "

"True. That would be a contradiction of my own beliefs. I'm glad you understand. Now right this way, Sacha. I'll introduce you to the others..."

"If I may suggest, would you show me around the building first? As someone that has been assigned as a member of your security detail, it is imperative that I familiarize myself with the building's layout and facilities specially the locations of possible escape routes like fire exits." Sacha interrupted swiftly after Motoharu's statement.

"Oh? Unlike, Kyoshiro-kun, you are quite diligent about your job just as your boss had said. I like that. Alright. I guess I'll show you around first then. "

Motoharu briskly turned around and beckoned Sacha to follow him. They walked through a vast lounge meant for guests complete with high-end furniture, a bar meant for guests and even an indoor fountain at the center of the room. Other facilities like arcades, mini-casinos and restaurants were also present.

There was an average-sized reception area at the back where a couple of female attendants in their early twenties were operating state-of-the-art computers as they went about their work. They briefly stopped what they're doing to greet the eccentric producer before continuing where they left off.

At the time, Sacha had already eyed several CCTV cameras installed and a couple of fire exits situated near the eastern and western flanks of the center of the ground floor. He then lead Sacha to an elevator and pressed the number 2 on the dial.

A sudden ding sounded from the elevator after a few moments. This broke the awkward atmosphere that had temporarily formed between the two going above and beyond its purpose and duty to announce to its passengers that they had arrived at their designated floor. Upon stepping out of the elevator, Motoharu immediately continued his explanation.

"As you have observed, the first floor is primarily composed if entertainment and leisure facilities both for both the guests and the staff. The second floor is where the magic happens."

Motoharu led Sacha down a wide corridor. Based from sight alone, he counted half a dozen rooms parallel to each other.

Room's 201 and 202 seemed to be office rooms since they were filled with cubicles.

Room's 203 and 204 made up a large portion of the entire floor. Room 203 is apparently lounge where anyone can practice playing instruments and singing. It's walls are soundproof and is filled with state of the art sound systems. Room 204 is the actual recording studio. It's also covered with soundproofing similar to Room 203 but is filled with a variety of high-end recording equipment and sound systems.

Meanwhile, Room's 205 and 206 functions as storage facilities for stock equipment.

"So basically, the 2nd floor is the work stations for the music department staff and the practice and recording stations of the girls. There are also a few offices meant to be used by the administrative department. Also, the place is littered by CCTV cameras. And there seems to be a sufficient number of fire exits, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, and sprinkler systems. The building seems to be structurally sound enough to survive a magnitude 8.5 earthquake. Quite impressive." Sacha mused nonchalantly.

"Outstanding observation, Sacha-kun. As expected from the Vasilisa Security Agency's top agent. You're a lot more observant than that other body guard I hired but he's supposed to be the Kikugawa Security Firm's best agent. I understand that two different people operate differently. "

Motoharu motioned for Sacha to get back in the same elevator nefore pushing the dial on the number 3.

Compared to the busy atmosphere on the previous floors, the third floor seemed empty and desolate. It was evident that this floor isn't used frequently.

Motoharu led Sacha to down a wide hallway and into a set of double doors that revealed a large room filled with rows of seats and a grand stage at the front.

"Now the entire third floor is where our auditorium is located. It seats up to a thousand people only so it isn't that big compared to other facilities in Japan but we built this in order for the girls to practice their live performances. That way we could provide an environment for them to practice in close to the real thing. Well, we also use this as a cinema every once in a while. The audio and lighting equipment is top of the line of course. " Motoharu said with a proud grin on his face.

"You're pretty prepared considering that there is no guarantee those girls will agree to your offer." Sacha said in a suspicious tone.

" Of course. I wanted to start a company of my own and promoting μ's would give both my company and their idol group the recognition we needed. But in the event that they refused my offer, I wouldn't give up my dreams that abruptly. μ's is probably one of the best school idol groups I've seen since I entered this industry but they're not the only Idol Group I had in mind to promote."

"I see. You really do have the mind of a businessman. " Sacha said nonchalantly.

"Anyways, I'll be showing you the fourth floor later. Right now, we really must be meeting the others. I believe we have kept them waiting long enough. " Motoharu said a lot more authoritatively than usual as he gestured for Sacha to follow him back to the elevator.

Instead of pressing 4, Motoharu opted to press 5 on the dial instead. The elevator whirred back to life and smoothly transported them to the fifth floor.

The two men navigated through a narrow yet beautiful corridor towards a large room at the center of the floor. Motoharu opened a set of maroon oak double doors and stepped into the room where seven other people were already waiting.

"You sure kept us waiting, Motoharu. Took the scenic route, eh?" A red haired guy wearing a brown jacket and ripped jeans said with an impatient look on his face.

"Don't be too hard on him, Miyamoto-san, he's doing his best!" A meek, androgynous-looking guy with ginger hair said in an anxious tone. He was wearing a beige trench coat that looked several sizes larger than him over a black undershirt, a pork pie hat and khaki shoes.

This time, it was a blue haired guy with a rather confident look on his face began to speak. He wore a turquoise shirt with a cicada print and the word "Higurashi" written in kanji on it under a dark blue coat, dark blue jeans and black combat boots. "Yeah, Kenji-kun. Kozue-chan is right. Besides, this guy seems a lot more... thorough than me. If I were to guess, the blond had Motoharu show him all the fire escapes, smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, etc."

"As much as I agree with you, Kyoshiro-san, please refer to me using the proper honorifics. I'm not a girl!" The ginger-haired guy named Kozue protested.

"It is as Kyoshiro said. I apologize for taking too long." Motoharu said in an apologetic town before clapping his hands together and turning to Sacha. "I suppose I should introduce everyone to you first, Sacha. He's the other head of security I hired for the duration of μ's tour. He'll work with Higurashi Kyoshiro in handling the other agents we've hired." Motoharu explained.

"My name is Sacha Orlenko but please call me Sacha. It is a pleasure to be working with all of you! I hope we can work well together from now on!"

After ending his introduction with a respectful bow, Sacha got mostly positive remarks from his co-workers.

"Hm... another security guy? Well he seems a lot more reliable than this blue haired dolt over here. Welcome to the crew, I guess. The name's Miyamoto Kenji. Kenji for short. I'm this lot's Sound Director so you better remember my name." The red haired guy who introduced himself as Kenji said in a snobbish tone.

"Er... I'm Yamanaka Kozue and I'm the director. P..pleased to you, Sacha-kun." The ginger-haired guy named Kozue muttered in an almost inaudible voice.

"Yo! My name's Higurashi Kyoshiro. As Motoharu said earlier, I'm your co-chief of security. I noticed that our styles of handling things is already different from the get-go but I hope we can get along. "

"Hm... where's Inoue, Haruko and Hideki?" Motoharu asked inquisitively.

As if on cue, the double doors opened all of a sudden. Then three guys entered the room, two of whom were pushing a rather large cart with an assortment of dishes placed on top of it. One of the people pushing the cart had grayish hair, eyes that shined like amethyst, fair complexion. He was wearing khaki safari vest over a plain white shirt as well as matching khaki shorts. So he looked more like someone working in a wildlife preserve than in an Idol company.

The other guy had light brown hair, black eyes and had a medium build. He was wearing a loose red sweatshirt and red track pants with white stripes. If the gray-haired guy looked like a park ranger, this one looked like a triathlete.

The third guy had characteristic bright orange hair, intense amber eyes that seem to be crackling with electricity. He was wearing a white chef's outfit so it was apparent that he cooked the delicious meals the two other guys brought with them.

Upon noticing Motoharu, orange haired guy greeted him politely.

"Oh, Motoharu. Sorry for disappearing all of a sudden. I had Goto-san and Atsumoto-san help me with transporting dinner."

"Ah. Perfect timing. I wanted to introduce you to our second chief of security. Orlenko Sacha."

Sacha bowed respectfully towards the three of them while they nodded at him in return.

"I see you are in excellent condition as well as Kyoshiro-kun. Motoharu chose well. My name is Goto Haruko but you can call me Haru for short. I'll be serving as the group's fitness instructor." The guy wearing the track pants said in a calm yet stern tone.

"And I'm his best friend, and the chef, Katsuhiro Ritu. Pleased to meet ya!" The orange haired guy who introduced himself as Ritu, said in a carefree manner.

"Finally, I'm Atsumoto Hideki. I'm a tutor. Although I do have some medical training, so to speak." The gray-haired man known as Hideki stated.

"Excellent. Everybody seems to be present. Now we can begin our meeting. I'm sure you're well aware of what today's meeting will be about, right?" Motoharu asked as he took a seat.

"General assembly and a discussion regarding our clients, right, Haru?" Kozue uttered in an anxious voice.

"First of all, are we already certain that Motoharu managed to reel in those girls into our company? We shouldn't count our eggs before they are laid." Kenji remarked with a deadpan look on his face.

"Oh trust me, Kenji. I said I'll give them a week to decide but I say I'll get a call in a manner of 3 days..." He was interrupted when his phone began ringing urgently inside his coat pocket. Everyone who knows his contact details is already registered in his phone's contact list. Everyone except those girls since he had not received their contact details yet.

The conversation was brief, only taking a few moments but everyone in the room was holding their breath in anxious anticipation.

"... or less." Motoharu finally finished.

"Oi, you don't mean... but you jist went to Otonokizaka Highschool yesterday!"

Kenji got his response when he saw Motoharu's triumphant grin. Sacha noted that Kenji had some doubts regarding the rumors surrounding Motoharu Nakai. He had to admit, even though that he isn't familiar with the inner workings of the idol industry but he was certain it would take incredible talent to recruit a renowned school idol unit such as μ's whose fame reached even the motherland.

"Looks like they all decided practically a few moments after I left. Although it took a day to persuade all of their parents and guardians to give them their consent. I'll be coming back there tomorrow in order to discuss a few things regarding their contract. I also need their parents' signatures and the school's principals permission. The latter should take longer since Nozomi Tojo, Nico Yazawa and Eli Ayase already graduated from Otonokizaka and are enrolled at another university." Motoharu noted.

"As expected. You really are amazing, Haru!" Kozue said enthusiastically.

"Well, Haru's had that sweet tongue pever since we were young so it's no surprise that they accepted his offer. What surprised me is how fast that took." Hideki mused.

When Motoharu Nakai cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, everyone's focus suddenly shifted to him. It seems that his usual enthusiastic attitude shifts into a more serious, businessman-like behaviour whenever he actually does his job

"I need all of you guys to make sure everything is in proper working condition. Sacha, and Hideki are to accompany me tomorrow. We'll meet here at around 8 a.m. "

"Oh? Come to think of it, I'll need to get an idea of the schools' curriculum so I can effectively apply my lessons to them." Hideki mused.

"Understood." was Sacha's brief response as he nodded in agreement.

"Kyoshiro, you are to brief our other bodyguards regarding security protocols. Also while you're at it, I'd like you to inspect all of our safety equipment. I did promise principal Minami that everyone would be safe 99.9% of the time."

"Got it, boss man." Kyoshiro replied nonchalantly.

"Haruko you are to check the Training and Fitness facilities and also give recommendations to Ritu regarding the dishes he'll be serving. I want these girls to eat only the finest and most nutritious food we can provide them. "

"Perfect. I was just talking to Ritu about that a while ago." Haruko said in a satisfied manner, obviously happy with the job he had been assigned to do.

"Yeah. Haruto wouldn't stop yapping about the importance of nutrition while I was cooking earlier." Ritu muttered in a weak voice.

"Kozue and Kenji, you are to handle the rest of the staff and check if all of our music and recording equipment are in working condition respectively. Please do your best."

"Naturally." Kenji muttered as a grin formed on his face. It was apparent that he was thrilled to test out the high-end musical equipment.

The same, however, cannot be said for Kozue as he was visibly shaking in anxiety after hearing Motoharu's orders.

"Umm... Okay..." Kozue, who was at cloud nine just a few moments ago turned back into an anxious mess after hearing Motoharu's request. Even though they were childhood friends, Sacha could tell that Motoharu wouldn't take no for an answer from Kozue.

"Well that's everyone. I don't know about you guys but I'm famished. Please help yourselves to this delicious treat that Ritu prepared." Motoharu announced.

"Thanks for the food!" Everyone said at the same time before digging in.

"Ohh... this is really good." Kenji muttered in surprise.

"I've known Ritu since we were kids. He's been this good at cooking ever since then." Haruko stated before shoving a pork cutlet into his mouth.

"Don't exaggerate things, Haruto. I'm sure my food is nowhere near 5-star quality just yet." Ritu said modestly.

"Haruko has a point, Ritu. I wouldn't have hired you if you weren't any good. In fact, everyone in this room, I hired because they are the best at what they do. Kozue has impressive directing skills even though he's a nervous wreck most of the time.

"Uhh... don't say that, Haru. It's embarrassing!" Kozue exclaimed.

"Hideki is a jack of all trades and a brilliant instructor. I wouldn't have passed my third year chemistry subject without his tutelage."

"Ahh, that sure brings back memories." Hideki said.

"Kenji has won multiple awards and has won the praise of fellow award-winning musical directors."

"I do my best in everything I do so it's nothing, really." Kenji boasted.

Ritu you are widely viewed as a rising star in the culinary field due to his highly meticulous cooking skills.

"I try my best to satisfy everyone who eats my food. I'm nit the best chef in japan by any means but every time I cook, I do it with passion. I guess that's the reason why I can make good food and satisfy everyone who tastes them." Ritu said modestly.

Haruko has been in charge of the fitness of multiple high-profile people, and has once been in charge of the JSDF's nutrition and training program.

"The JSDF's training regiment is already tough as is but I only made their training a lot more efficient and made sure they were getting the right nutrition."

Kyoshiro, although he is a part of the renowned Higurashi family, has trained himself to become one of the best bodyguards there is. I believe he is proficient with different forms of combat.

"Yeah. I realized a life of luxury isn't for me and I don't want to just depend on Shiro all of the time so I trained myself to become a bodyguard... and well here I am now." Kyoshiro replied absent-mindedly as he launched a preempted strike on a bunch of dumplings.

"And lastly, Sacha received Spetsnaz training prior joining the Vasilisa Security Agency's. He's the tip of the spear when it comes to security. I can attest to how skilled he is." Motoharu said proudly.

"So that's my cover, huh? Although I am a bit surprised that they revealed I had Spetsnaz training. Oh well. I'll just have to work with that. The most convincing of lies have a shred of truth in them after all." Sacha thought.

"Indeed. The Russian Special Forces do not take training lightly. As such I will make sure to put my utmost efforts into protecting each and everyone of you." Sacha said respectfully as he bowed to his colleagues.

"Then I hope that clears any and all doubts." Motoharu said before finishing his meal.

"Ohh I almost forgot. Isn't tonight bar night?" Kyoshiro asked.

"Ah. Yes it is. Thanks for reminding me, Kyoshiro. Is everyone coming?" Motoharu asked perhaps too enthusiastically.

"If the meeting has been adjourned, I'd wish to be excused earlier since i would need to make necessary preparations for tomorrow." Sacha said seriously.

"Hmm... I was ignoring it at first but aren't you a bit too uptight, Sacha-kun? Come on. You should at least try to loosen up when you're with us." Kyoshiro flatly stated.

"I appreciate your concern but this is simply how I operate in my job. I believe that one's level of preparation heavily influences whether you come out of that job successful or not. Dropping one's guard could prove fatal in our line of work, after all, Kyoshiro. For us and our clients." Sacha retorted politely.

"I understand that. I really do. But you should learn to have a bit of fun from time to time. Work is important and all but relaxation is of equal importance. I'm speaking from experience here. My older brother, Shiro is just like you, valuing work more than his health. He's been working for 5 years without taking any type of vacation or leave whatsoever. He may have acted all composed and confident like the renowned businessman he is but he was falling apart inside. It was a good thing we finally managed to convince him to take a break. And during that time, he reunited with his highschool sweetheart and they're going out now. Needless to say, he's been taking more breaks than before so he could spend some time with Mochizuki-san but he's gotten a lot happier than we've ever seen him before. " Kyoshiro replied.

"I fail to see your point, Kyoshiro-kun " Sacha replied while glaring at the blue-haired guy. He was displeased at how much time he's spending to get Kyoshiro off his case but he could vaguely see that he only means well.

"I've seen guys like you before... serious with work to the point that it becomes their only driving force in life. They live meaningless lives as they desperately try to fill a void in themselves in an attempt to find meaning but they all fail to see that a balance between work and happiness is the key to establishing a meaningful existence. The point is, you should be happy about your life otherwise you're not living your life correctly."

Motoharu, seeing things heating up between the two heads of security tried to swiftly bring the argument to a close.

"Kyoshiro, I understand that you mean well but Sacha has his own methods of operating. I'd like you to respect that. On the other hand, Sacha, I would like you to take Kyoshiro's advice to heart. I don't want us to be merely co-workers but be brothers instead." Motoharu said in a calm yet stern voice.

"Alright. Got it, Motoharu." Kyoshiro said nonchalantly.

"Understood. I'll make sure to contemplate on Kyoshiro-kun's words. But for the meantime, I'd like to be excused." Sacha said in a monotone voice with a deadpan look on his face.

After getting the go-ahead from Motoharu and giving an apologetic bow, Sacha promptly left the building. Just as he had exited the facility, he saw a familiar blonde leaning on the building's wall. She was wearing a black tuxedo over a light blue long-sleeved polo shirt, black-rimmed sunglasses, black pants and black shoes. Her golden hair was neatly tied into a ponytail and she had a smug look on her face.

"I presume you're going to be meeting that blondie soon. You must be pretty excited, huh?" Natasha Orlenko said casually to her younger brother.

"Are you still stalking me? Do you not have a mission of your own to be attending to?" Sacha responded.

"Hey, I AM doing my job. The high value target I'm supposed to protect is quite nearby. He asked me to maintain my distance since my specialty is ranged combat after all and he's in a disguise himself. I just figured I'd drop by to see how you're doing." Natasha explained.

"Ah... I see. So you met up with that friend of yours yet?" Sacha asked.

"Yeah. He was really glad to see me. Hehe." She exclaimed proudly.

"Translation, he wasn't glad to see you at all. In fact it was the complete opposite.

"Waaaah! You don't have to say it out loud and slap it on my face." The blonde female protested dejectedly.

"Who is this guy supposed to be anyway? Maybe I am familiar with his name at least."

"Well, if you have to ask. His name is Yomikawa Yoru. He's a 5-digit agent like me and Aiko."

"Yomikawa... is he related to Aiko or anything?" He asked inquisitively.

"Well, if you have to know, Aiko was the one who gave Yoru his name when she saved him from becoming nothing more than Ichigaya's puppet. He was so grateful that he started calling her his "savior" and adopted her surname in gratitude." Natasha explained.

"That explains that. I am honestly surprised that you snagged him away from Aiko though. I saw her once and I was trying hard not to blush due to her rather "unique" way of clothing.

The first time Sacha met his sister's best friend, Yomikawa Aiko, shall always be engraved in his memory due to the unique circumstances that surrounded their first encounter. It involved a sudden visit to Aiko's house at Sapporo by Sacha when his sometimes scatterbrained sister decided that he should meet her best friend immediately. There was a heat wave when they visited Hokkaido at that time and as a result, he saw the esteemed 5-digit agent, whom Natasha spoke highly about, dressed in nothing but her birthday suit struggling weakly to fan herself from the heat while a white haired boy, also in his birthday suit, mind you, was desperately attempting to bring a derelict air conditioning system back to life.

"Truth be told, Aiko and Yoru are already dating but she doesn't mind me being a third part ehehehe." Natasha admitted bashfully.

"..."

"Eh... what's with that reaction, Sacha?" Natasha asked nervously.

"..."

"C'mon! Say something already!" She protested.

"I never would have thought that my dear sister, the greatest agent KGB has ever produced since the Cold War, has fallen so low as to willingly become a concubine."

"Ugh... you don't have to slap that fact on my face, Sacha... but what about you? Aren't you excited to meet that blonde Russian idol?" Natasha asked inquisitively.

"Well you got me. I am a bit curious about what this Ayase Eli is like. Motoharu, a co-worker of mine spoke highly of her when I spoke to him on the phone yesterday. "

What Sacha told Natasha wasn't a lie. He was indeed quite intrigued about the person he's assigned to protect but his interest was far greater than he had let on. Normally, he was not the type to believe in love at first sight and it is one of his work ethics not to develop any feelings towards someone he's supposed to protect. However, there was something about this particular girl that caught his interest.

"So you really do like her already. I see. I see." She said in a conspiring voice as she stroke her chin like a detective that stumbled upon incriminating evidence.

"Ah. Whatever. I'll be getting some items I'll be needing tomorrow from the nearby safe house. I've been given clearance to utilize my disposal to protect that princess anyways." Sacha said as he started to leave.

"Oh? What assurance do you have that your target would still be alive tomorrow? For all we know, our enemies would start acting tonight." Natasha warned.

"Well, dear sister, the document Nikola showed me didn't exactly tell where she lives. I cannot ask about such information from any of my current... colleagues or my cover would be compromised. It would be too suspicious. The people that Motoharu chose as senior staff members, he had already been observing them for a few years now gauging their talent. I'm the only exception since he hired me based on the nicely fabricated transcript the boys at the Espionage division made for my cover. He's still suspicious of me. I'm certain about that. So I should thread carefully from now on. Ayase Eli just needs to survive for the next 12 hours."

Ayase Residence

2000 Hours

"Aghh! I'm dying! All this waiting is killing me! Why can't tomorrow come any faster, Alisa?" A certain blonde Russian girl complained as she rolled left and restlessly.

"You acted so calmy and reservedly yesterday, Nee-chan but you seem to be the most excited among everyone about this second chance to become idols again."

Eli was flustered a bit when her younger sister pointed this fact out. She had been keeping her pent up feelings enthusiasm to herself ever since that producer, Motoharu, offered them another chance to become idols.

"Well, I really do want to spend more time with everyone else. I want to make more wonderful memories with everyone... I want to perform more lives with them but most of all, I want μ's to be together even for just a little bit longer. I just think that it all ended so fast. I honestly didn't think that Honoka's ambitious plan to save the school by becoming school idols would turn into something that would help me achieve the dream that I thought had died in my childhood. I even got to befriend a lot of wonderful people in the process. Sure, the training for lives is difficult most of the time and we more often than not get nervous right before performing for a large audience but at the same time, we have fun while we're training and we truly enjoy pouring our heart and soul into our performances. Is it selfish of me to ask more of that?" Eli exclaimed.

"Calm down, Nee-chan. I know just how you feel about this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have helped you convince everyone to approve of your decision, right? And they all gave you their permission! You can become idols with everyone again!" Alisa said enthusiastically.

"Yeah... I just need this night to be over! I wish it's morning already." She chirped.

The Russian blonde would spend an entire sleepless night reminiscing all the memories she had made with the other member of μ's and looking forward to having new experiences with them.

* * *

Author's Note

Hello all! First and foremost, I would like to apologize for the delay of putting out this chapter of my Love Live fanfic. The combination of writer's block, school, and other personal problems did a number on me so it took me more than 6 months to write this chapter and get it out. I'll do everything in my power to make sure Chapter 3 doesn't take another 6 months to write! I'd also like to thank everyone for sticking around even through this rough delay. Now as you may have started to notice, I have been alternating between Eli and Sacha in narrating these chapters so expect the next chapter to be told in Eli's perspective. Our story's two main characters would finally meet for the first time in the next chapter so I am quite excited to begin writing it. Hopefully, this would serve as motivation to fill up my inspiration gauge and finally get rid of this pesky writer's block.

Now it's time to put down my pen and have a quick break before working on the next installment.

I hope we'll see each other again in the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 3: First Encounter

Chapter 3: First Encounter.

Otonokizaka Highschool

"Ugh... I take it back. I wish it's night already." Ayase Eli grumbled as she lazily slumped on the table. She had gotten barely a wink of sleep last night since she couldn't take her mind off the idea of becoming idols with everyone all over again. She was supposed to be everyone's role model. Some role model she turned out to be...

"Eh? You didn't get any sleep, Eli? That's pretty unusual for you." Maki noted.

"Kukuku, even Elicchi gets this excited from time to time." Nozomi remarked.

"Uhm... you can still get some sleep; if you'd like, Eli-chan. Nakai-san isn't due to arrive for a few more hours at least." Said Hanayo as she worked on something with the club's computer.

Indeed, she is aware of the producer's estimated time of arrival but at this point, she was still too excited to even think about getting some sleep. Besides, one could never tell when he'd arrive. Based on her first impression of him, Motoharu Nakai is the type of person who'd arrive no later than an hour before an important meeting. And judging from the email Hanayo sent last night, the mysterious producer would be accompanied by some of his company's other staff members. It would be quite embarrassing to be seen in such a state when Motoharu and his colleagues arrive.

"Don't worry, Eli-chan! Rin-chan and Nico-chan were too excited so they're on lookout for when Nakai-san arrives, remember? We'll be sure to wake you up before they arrive here." Honoka said reassuringly.

"Alright... I guess I could really use a quick nap." Eli said absentmindedly. She could feel her eyes growing heavier by the second as the urge to sleep slowly took hold of her. If Honoka promised to save her from embarrassment by waking her up in the nick of time then she could afford to get some much needed shut eye.

However, hours passed by yet no one seemed to bother waking her up. She was just lightly asleep so a gentle nudge would have been enough to wake her right away. Still, she trusted Honoka's promise and continued to sleep. She couldn't argue since she badly needed every second of sleep she could get. In her half-asleep state, she discerned no changes in the usual noisy enthusiasm in the room. Then, she managed to notice a brief period unusually high level of excitement in the room which was followed by peaceful yet eerie silence. She was tempted to force herself to wake up right then and there but decided against it. She still clung to Honoka's promise and ruled out that everybody decided to keep quiet in consideration for her. How nice of them. Although if she had to take a guess, Umi probably had a hand on everyone's peculiar disciplined behavior. She'd have to make sure to thank her later.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

As the hands of the clock reverberated each passing second, Eli was starting to get suspicious of the tantalizingly peaceful silence in the room. It was so quiet that one could practically hear a pin drop. Even the sound of Hanayo typing on the keyboard had abruptly stopped when this enjoyable silence occurred.

She would continue to resist her curiosity until another embarrassing factor forced her to wake up from her light slumber.

~grrrrww~

"!"

The sound of the Russian girl's grumbling stomach finally cut through the tranquil silence that once reigned uncontested in the room. She woke up with a start and immediately inspected her surroundings. As she had suspected, the room was devoid of life... save for a guy she had not seen before casually reading a small pocketbook as he sat at the far end of the table. He gave her the impression of being a foreigner due to his characteristic sandy blond hair and lighter complexion. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt over a black vest, black pants and black pointed leather shoes. At any other circumstances, she would have found him rather handsome but the way he's casually reading as he sat near the only exit made Eli highly suspicious of him.

By the looks of things, he hasn't noticed her wake up yet so she'd have to speak to him first in order to know what's really going on.

"Who are you? What did you do to Honoka and the others?" She demanded. "If you do anything funny, I'm going to shout for help..." She warned.

Eli was also capable of defending herself, should the need arise since her grandmother insisted that she be trained in basic self-defense before coming to Japan. It didn't seem like he'd be a threat since he wasn't visibly armed and he didn't have the body of a weight lifter so he shouldn't be a problem. However, Eli decided that it was appropriate to hear him out first before resorting to violence.

His response confused her quite a bit since it involved him nonchalantly tossing a small metal flask at her without even taking his eyes off at the book he was reading.

She managed to caught the flask but hesitated to open it and find out its contents.

"[It seems to me that you're on the brink of starvation so it is best if we assess that problem first. Go on, open it. It's not poison. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done so while you were asleep.]" The blond guy said while his eyes were still fixed on the book he was reading.

Hearing the blond guy speak surprised her quite a bit. She wasn't going to believe in his words just yet but what surprised her was the fact that he addressed her in fluent Russian.

"[Drink. It's just Kompot. Or would you rather have a soda?]" He asked.

(Tl Note: Kompot is a traditional Russian drink made by boiling fresh or dried fruit.)

She decided to just do as the blond guy says for now since it seemed he wasn't going to talk until she did so. Hesitantly, she opened the flask and curiously sniffed the contents. What welcomed her was the smell of brewed apples and other fruits she couldn't tell apart. Her stomach threatened to give another defiant growl so she decided to start chugging down the Kompot.

"[And by the way, you drool when you sleep.]" He added.

Hearing this while she was drinking made her instinctively spit out the Kompot in her mouth and start coughing as she choked on the drink left over in her throat.

"I... *cough* do... *cough* not!" She protested.

With a swift motion of his hands, he closed the book he was reading and placed it inside the pocket of his vest.

"[Would you like me to present some video evidence?]" He offered.

Realizing that the mysterious stranger had the audacity to film her while she was asleep immediately made Eli's face flush for a few moments before anger replaced her flustered state. What was he thinking filming her like that?

"What did you say? Why on earth would you film me while I was sleeping? Are you some sort of pervert?!" She exclaimed in outrage.

"[Relax. I had no ill intent when I filmed you. You just reminded me a lot of my idiot of a sister whenever she overworks. I wanted to show this to her but I guess it would be better if I were to delete it right now.]"

"Yes. Please do so." She said grudgingly.

After seing him delete the incriminating evidence of her drooling while she slept, Eli allowed herself to sigh in relief for a little bit. If the others saw that, her image would be destroyed

"[Now I'll ask you again, just who are you and where are my friends?]" Eli said menacingly in Russian.

"[Well, you were out cold and Kousaka-san explained that you hadn't got a wink of sleep last night so Motoharu decided to let you sleep for the time being and assigned me to watch over you. We just practically arrived so he should be getting ready to orient the others right now. As for who I am, the name's Sacha Orlenko. I'll leave it to Motoharu to tell you all about my job description. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Ayase-san. ] " He explained.

" _Wait... that family name. I'm certain it's a_ _Russian_ _one! So he really is_ _Russian_ _!_ " She thought. Initially, she thought this person was just one of Motoharu's staff who used the dialect out of consideration for her. Then again, upon closer inspection, he looked less Japanese and more like a Russian.

"[Wait... you know who I am?]" Eli didn't expect that the blond boy would know her name. Even if Motoharu had slightly briefed him about μ's, he wouldn't have addressed her like that unless he had been familiar with her for quite some time now.

"[Well... you could say that I am a fan of yours.]"

Wait... did she just saw Mr. Standoffish Guy blush a bit? It couldn't have been her imagination, right? And she recalled him saying that he's a fan... of her? Hearing him say that out of the blue somehow made her face flush uncontrollably which prompted her to turn her back from him altogether until she could calm down at least.

"[We should get moving right now if you want to arrive on time. Though if you're still sleepy, you're free to sleep once again.]"

"[And risk being filmed by you again? I'd rather not."] She said in an annoyed tone.

"[Suit yourself. At least drink some more Kompot. I don't have any sandwiches with me so that's all I could offer for now. ]"

She was about to refuse him once more when her stomach started to say otherwise with one defiant ~grrrrrlll~

"[Th... thanks... then I'll have some more.]" Eli said reluctantly before sipping more of the fruity drink. With her stomach being ungodly honest right now, she couldn't exactly refuse, could she? Besides... she found the Kompot to be quite delicious. Not too sweet but one could still taste the well thought out combination of fruits in the concoction.

"So... where exactly are my friends?" Eli asked inquisitively as she walked side by side with Sacha. Even though she knows Motoharu is someone she could trust, she still couldn't help but get worried about them. If Nozomi was with her right now, she'd probably tease her that it's her "motherly instincts kicking in".

"They should be in the auditorium at the moment. Don't worry. I'll just call Motoharu to get the coordinates of his location in the event that they moved to another location. Although I am sure Motoharu would inform me before going some place else. " He said in a reassuring manner.

"Why didn't you tell me you could speak Japanese? And that fluently!" Eli protested.

"I figured you'd prefer to converse in your native tongue. But I guess it would have been more convenient to use Japanese since that's what you're using often. My apologies."

Eli was slightly taken aback when she saw how sincerely apologetic Sacha was but that only lasted for no more than 3 seconds before his deadpan expression returned.

"Right... How about you? Are you comfortable speaking in Japanese?" She asked.

"Don't worry about me. It's true that I'd prefer to speak in Russian but it would be much more practical to speak in Japanese. "

"Thanks..."

The two of them reached the auditorium just in time for Motoharu's orientation. It seemed that the producer decided to let everyone have their lunch first before starting the briefing. Fortunately, Nozomi was thoughtful enough to save a tuna sandwich for her. She made a mental note to give Honoka a mouthful as she glared at her from her seat. The ginger-haired third year returned her gaze with an apologetic yet nervous smile.

"So, Elicchi. I couldn't help but notice that you came here walking together with that blond guy. By the looks of it he's around our age. And he's quite the handsome fellow too. Is he your type?" Nozomi said in a conspiring voice which made Eli blush almost instantaneously.

"Wh... what are you saying, Nozomi! That's completely preposterous! First of all, he only accompanied me here since I didn't know where you guys are! Secondly, he isn't my type!" She explained. However, she realized that she had practically screamed what she had said to Nozomi in a fit of panic and coupled by the structure of the auditorium, her words echoed numerous times in the room for all to hear.

"Ahem... may I have your attention, please." Motoharu said in a calm yet authoritative voice. "Thank you. Again, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for accepting my offer and giving us this opportunity to work with you. But before we can formally begin, I'd like to announce that your parents and guardians have given us their express written consent to allow you to pursue this path. So I would like to express my thanks to them as well for placing their trust in all of us and being very supportive of your dreams." Motoharu said as he gratefully addressed the girls' parents.

"That said, we have come to an agreement that your education is still a very important factor that should not be forsaken under any circumstances. Hence, I have asked the help of an old friend of mine to ensure that you do not fall behind on your academics. Everyone, please welcome Hideki Atsumoto-san." The young producer announced.

A gray haired guy with characteristic amethyst eyes stepped in the center of the stage and politely bowed at them. From the looks of it, he seems to be no older than Motoharu. Still, with his khaki safari vest and shorts, coupled by his brown boots, he looked more like a zookeeper than a tutor.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet all of you girls. As Motoharu had previously said, my name is Hideki Atsumoto but you can call me Hideki. My job, as your tutor is to make sure that you don't fall behind on your academics. As such, We've actually been to Ms. Ayase, Ms. Toujo and Ms. Yazawa's school earlier and we've also talked to Principal Minami in order for us to get an insight on your courses. This is so that I can integrate any lessons and exams I'll be giving you with your respective curriculum." He explained.

"Actually, that's the reason we arrived later than usual. So in behalf of my colleagues, I'd like to apologize to you all for the inconvenience I've caused." The gray haired safari guy said in an apologetic voice as he humbly bowed at the nine girls. Everyone was so shocked at his sudden change of demeanor from enthusiastic to gloomy that nobody knew how to react. Finally, Eli saw Kotori take the initiative of calming down Hideki and reassuring him that everything was fine.

Eli decided to back up Kotori with her efforts.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. I got some much needed sleep because you guys didn't arrive on time." Eli agreed.

"To be honest, I've been a fan of you girls for quite some time now and all I could say is that I look forward to working with you all." Hideki chimed enthusiastically as he bowed down once more.

"Well, at least we managed to calm him down." Eli mused as she sighed in relief.

"Alright. Now your security is also very important to us as I have already stressed when I had a talk with Principal Minami the last time I came here. So, we spared no penny in hiring the best agent from one of the leading security firms in the country, the Vasilisa Security Agency. He used to serve in the Russian army's special forces, the Spetsnaz and now he'll be co-leading the security detail that would accompany us for the duration of the tour. Everyone, I'm pleased to introduce to you Sacha Orlenko-san."

Upon hearing the blonde guy's name being called, Eli turned her attention to Sacha, who had nonchalantly pocketed the book he was reading and calmly made his way to the stage. Earlier, she had thought that Sacha Orlenko was just a regular, if not a bit peculiar, fellow Russian. That's why her jaw practically dropped when she heard Motoharu Nakai say he was an Ex-Spetsnaz operative and he'll be leading their security team. As a result, her interest in him skyrocketed . Of course, her close friend, Nozomi Tojo, noticed this.

"You say you aren't interested in him but your eyes are practically glued to Sacha-kun. You aren't being honest at all, Elicchi." Nozomi whispered to Eli in a mischievous voice.

"Waaah! Stop teasing me, Nozomi! It's true. I'm not interested in him at all!" She retorted.

"Kukuku, then why are you blushing so much?"

Realizing that she was indeed beet red, Eli couldn't help but cover her face in embarrassment. However, after she had relatively calmed down, she was embarrassed once again when she saw everyone looking at her curiously.

"Eli-chan, are you alright? Your face is kinda red. Don't tell me you got a fever?" Honoka said in a worried voice.

"Eli, you know you can take it easy, right. You can take a nap. This is just the orientation, after all." Umi added.

"Hey, you guys are wrong. This is just a misunderstanding! I don't have a fever." As if to prove her point, Eli performed several jumping jacks. "See? I'm completely fine!"

"Hmm... perhaps you should take her to the infirmary, Sacha. Ms. Ayase seems to be under the weather." Motoharu instructed as he looked worryingly at Eli.

Sacha was about to comply when Eli clearly voiced out her opinion, albeit at the top of her lungs...

"NOOOOOOOOOO! I'M FINE! I don't need to go to the infirmary!" She exclaimed.

"Then why is your face a deeper shade of red than Nishikino-san's hair? In my years of combat experience, I know full well how deadly a seemingly "normal fever" is. Lost a few good men over the years due to them putting off something like that as a simple fever." Sacha commented. "Or perhaps you are just against my company that much? Not that I care at all what you think of me but at the end of the day, if I could not protect you from a "simple fever" then I'd be a failure as a bodyguard."

Eli was stunned by the latter part of what Sacha had said. It seems that her behavior around him led to him misunderstanding that she disliked being with him to that degree. Although he was commendable for still prioritizing his duty and responsibility first despite that misconception. She needed to clear that misunderstanding between her and Sacha but now wasn't the time.

"Alright. It seems that you are indeed fine. However, try to get some rest. We will have another orientation when we go to the agency anyway, so it's alright if you take a nap during this one." Motoharu suggested, to which Eli could only nod weakly in response. She was ashamed for causing such a misunderstanding not only between him and her fellow countryman but also for making everyone worry due to the way she acted. It seems she's becoming less and less of a reliable senior now.

"It's alright to take it easy every once in a while, Elicchi. We just finished a bunch of exams a few days ago, right? And I know how much that stressed you out so try to relax little by little from now on." Nozomi said to her best friend in a calm and gentle voice. "I know! How we get some parfaits later, my treat." She chimed.

Eli could only smile wryly in response to her best friend's efforts to cheer her up. In most cases, going out to eat parfait with Nozomi would cheer her up instantly but after what had happened earlier, she felt that wasn't enough to regain her enthusiasm.

When she saw Sacha going back to the stage, Eli decided to focus her attention to what he'll be saying. After all, she had already interrupted his introduction before it even started and they already had gotten off with a bad start.

As Sacha stood before them on-stage, Eli could only describe the blonde guy as professional. If he were indeed a former Spetsnaz operative, then his demeanor came as no surprise for her since they must have literally beat that trait into him when he was just an initiate. Or at least that's how she envisioned it.

"Good afternoon to everyone, my name is Sacha Orlenko. As Motoharu had said earlier, I shall be co-leading the security detail that would accompany you every second of every hour of every day during your tour. I assure you that I have the appropriate credentials for the position assigned to me. It is indeed true that I had once undergone training to become a Spetsnaz operative when I was 8 years old. The training lasted for 4 years and I have served for 5 years in said organization before resigning and becoming a bodyguard at the Vasilisa Security Agency. Of all the staff Motoharu Nakai hired, I may be the one who's most unfamiliar about your group but rest assure that as long as I and the rest of my team draw breath, no harm shall ever come to you."

As expected, a round of applause was given to the blonde guy after he had delivered his speech and due to the way he carried himself on stage. Although it was unexpected when Umi suddenly raised her hand to ask Sacha a question.

"Where exactly are your other team members and when will we meet them?" She asked inquisitively.

"As of the moment, my team has not yet finished making the necessary preparations needed to make sure we could protect you to our utmost ability. Meanwhile, it seems the Kikugawa Security Firm's operatives are also in the same boat and the one who'll be leading them, Kyoshiro Higurashi, is at the Agency. From what Motoharu had told me, you are scheduled to meet all of the staff members next week upon visiting our headquarters back at Akihabara."

Umi merely nodded in response to what Sacha had said while the latter gestured to everyone if they had any further questions.

This time, it was Hanayo's turn to ask a question.

"Umm... Or..len..ko-san..."

"You may refer to me on a first-name basis, Koizumi-san."

"Alright... Sacha-san, then could you please call me by my first name as well? Umm... I would just like to ask if our security team would only be... comprised of males." She asked in a meek tone.

"A completely reasonable question, Hanayo-san. Truth of the matter is, while my team would mostly be comprised of males, we'll have a couple of highly-skilled female operatives as well. Though I am unsure about Kyoshiro's teammates. Still, I'll trust that the Kikugawa Security Firm would be considerate enough to send female agents as part of their security team as well." Sacha explained in a stern voice.

Eli decided to ask him a question to prove she was interested in what he said earlier.

"I've been meaning to ask? Why hire two Security Agencies? Wouldn't it be more convenient if you just stuck to one?" was what Eli said with a quizzical look on her face.

Her argument was logical. It would be far more convenient to have a single security agency operating than to have two. That way, there wouldn't be any clash of opinions on how to operate which would consequently lead to a smooth operation.

"I am uncertain about that myself, Ayase-san. Perhaps you can answer that question, Motoharu?"

All eyes turned to the black haired producer who didn't seem startled one bit after the spotlight had been suddenly directed towards him.

"Well, as Ayase-san had said, it is certainly far more convenient to hire only one security agency, specially in order to avoid any clash of opinions. However, I must say that there are no absolute laws that dictate how a security team should operate. I hired both the Vasilisa and Kikugawa Security Agencies due to how differently they operate. That way, despite any possible clash of opinions, if there was a situation that one group couldn't handle, then the other group might have a chance of resolving that situation." Motoharu explained enthusiastically.

Sacha cut-in after Motoharu's explanation, as if to add to what he had already said.

"That's not the only reason, is it? I heard you explicitly requested for agents that are close to the girls' age. I assume that by doing so, you hope to foster a sense of ease and comfort between the security group and the clients we are supposed to protect." The blond Russian said in a suspicious voice.

"Precisely. You really are quite the perceptive one, Sacha. It is as he said. You girls would have an easier time adjusting and warming up to the security team if most of them are close to your age. I don't want your relationship with them to be strictly professional. I'd also like it if you can befriend them as well. I believe that would play a key role in motivating you to protect he girls more due to the bond you'll share with them."

"I see. Quite a clever tactic, Motoharu." Sacha said grudgingly. "But that comes with a problem in itself. If you wanted to hire agents that are close to the girls' age, then you can't expect them to have the same level of skill as me and probably Kyoshiro. There might be a handful of exceptions but you can't expect all of them to be highly skilled. The older veterans would have greater skill sets and experience, after all." He retorted.

"Well then, it's your job to train them to the point that they could match a veteran, Sacha. We'll have a lot of time for that before the tour starts."

"Heh... I'd say that's practically impossible but you're probably the third most stubborn person I met. Understood, I'll talk to Kyoshiro regarding that matter." the blond Russian let out a sigh of exasperation before turning his attention to a fellow blonde.

"Does that answer your question, Ayase-san?"

"Uhh... yeah. Thanks." Eli said meekly.

She didn't witness a simple argument between coworkers. What she saw was more of a clash of ideals between the innovative Motoharu and the practical Sacha.

Turning towards Nozomi, she noted that her eyes were quite fixated on their eccentric producer. Suddenly, this gave her the idea to get back at the purple-haired girl for all that teasing earlier.

"What's this? Aren't you a little bit too interested in Motoharu-kun, Nozomi? Your eyes are practically glued to him!" Eli teased.

"Well, it does concern all of us a lot, so I figured I'd listen intently, Elicchi." Nozomi casually responded.

However, Eli wasn't just about to back down yet. It was a rare opportunity for her to be given the chance to tease Nozomi and she wasn't about to let it go to waste.

"So Motoharu-kun really is your type of guy, eh? Nozomi." Eli said with an impish grin on her face.

Seeing her best friend blush profusely was an even rarer sight for Eli since she was usually in the receiving end of these discussions. Well, she figured that if Nozomi was going to pair her up with that standoffish guy, Sacha Orlenko, she'd do the same by pairing her with someone whom she thinks would sync well with her best friend. Between the aloof Sacha, the emotional Hideki, and the perpetually calm Motoharu, she believes that the latter would serve as the best partner for Nozomi.

"Well, I can't say for sure. We've barely gotten to know him and his staff after all..." Nozomi explained as she shuffled her deck of cards. "Though I do find him interesting..."

She picked one and smiled at the result before showing "The Lovers" card excitedly to Eli. "And the cards seem to think that we're a perfect match."

"Harasho" was Eli's astonished response to Nozomi's enthusiasm.

"Well I think we've covered everything we wanted to discuss with you for now. We'll be heading to the Agency a few days from now where you'll be preparing to perform your first live after you disbanded one year ago." Motoharu announced.

"Wait, what?!" Maki shouted in an astonished voice.

Everyone else also seems to be quite surprised by this turn of events as evidenced by the anxious murmuring of the girls.

"You're gonna have a mini-concert next week at the agency." Motoharu clarified while maintaining his composure.

"But isn't that too sudden? We haven't performed in a year so at least give us enough time to practice." Umi protested.

"Unfortunately, that is all the time I can give you. The idol industry is quite a cruel world. If you haven't performed nor released any new songs in a year, chances are, people may have already forgotten about you. That's how fast things change. Don't get me wrong, you're a talented group of girls. However, you're not the only talented group of girls in Japan. If we wait any longer, people may forget about you entirely." He explained in a calm yet stern voice.

"It may be painful to hear it but he makes a valid point. A year may not seem like a long time but it's an eternity in the music industry." Maki explained.

"No way..." Kotori muttered.

"Our fans couldn't have forgotten about us that fast, right?" Nico said in a desperate voice.

The once enthusiastic mood in the room was suddenly replaced by a gloomy atmosphere. Motoharu regretted mentioning such heartbreaking news to the girls but he knew it had to be said sooner or later. In this case, the earlier they know about this fact, the faster they can accept it, move on and overcome this challenge presented to them.

"I'm not usually the optimistic kind of person but didn't you win that idol competition, Love Live, was it? So shouldn't you still have a considerable number of fans out there?" Sacha's voice cut in like a sharp knife that sliced away the despair permeating in the auditorium.

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard his words and Motoharu gave him a thankful nod.

"That's true. Since μ's won Love Live last year they should still have a larger fan base compared to other idol groups who are just starting from scratch. Your more hard core fans wouldn't forget you so easily. Two years ago, your group sent shock waves in the idol industry and winning Love Live shook it to its very core. This time, we just have to remind all of Japan about μ's." Motoharu said on a more positive note and the entire room exploded in cheer.

"That's right! It's impossible that everyone has already forgotten about the greatest idol, Yazawa Nico! And in case they did, I just need to remind them about how truly great I am! Nico Nico Nii~" Nico shouted.

"That's the spirit Nico-chan! I'll make sure to give it all I got again-nya!" Rin said in a determined voice.

"I can't wait to get back to practicing. It's been so long after all. It feels like it's been forever since the last time we practiced." Honoka chimed enthusiastically.

"Yeah. I'm really excited too, Honoka-chan. Having everyone together again is wonderful!" Kotori agreed in a sing-song voice.

"But, since the two of you are both members of the student council now, you shouldn't neglect your duties as well. In fact, I'll make sure you don't neglect it." Umi cut in, quickly dampening the mood of Otonokizaka High's Student Council President.

"No fair, Umi-chan. We were just getting excited too." Honoka complained in a tired voice.

The sight of everyone laughing together was enough to prompt Eli to smile as well. This was what she wanted to last for a long long time... everyone laughing and having fun together. If it wasn't for Motoharu Nakai's offer, she doubted that they'd have a chance to spend more time with each other any time soon.

"Well, with that said, you should start practicing and making a plan soon. You only have a few days to practice after all. Also, we'll be heading to the Agency the day after tomorrow. There, you'll be given a tour of the place you're going to work for the rest of the year and you're going to formally sign a contract with us. You'll also get the chance to meet the other heads of the various departments of the agency as well as the rest of the staff. I made sure to schedule it this weekend to ensure that it wouldn't affect your studies. Remember that you are to continue attending your regular classes until the day of your performance in the agency. That is all."

After responding with an enthusiastic "Yes!", the girls immediately started planning among themselves about the songs they'd like to perform and how they're going to practice.

Meanwhile, Motoharu, Sacha, and Hideki took their leave, to avoid disturbing the girls' serious planning.

Akihabara, Tokyo

1900 Hours

Sacha Orlenko was back en route to the Agency after meeting up with his sister. Needless to say, Natasha spent their supposedly peaceful family dinner together asking him about the person he was assigned to protect, Ayase Eli, how their first meeting went and teasing him about it to top it off.

Strangely enough, he didn't feel as fatigued as before whenever he had to endure Natasha's constant jesting. In fact, it felt refreshing to see her beaming as she excitedly talked about how great Ayase Eli was. Apparently she had stayed up some nights watching μ's concerts just to do some research on her and she quickly became a fan. Though the cause of her excitement was obviously her viewing the half-russian, half-japanese idol as a potential romantic partner for her uptight, younger brother.

"It feels like a long time since I saw her that happy. I guess idols really can make people happy." Sacha mused.

"Of course, that's one of the reasons I was motivated to enter this industry in the first place." Motoharu's familiar voice said to him, which visibly startled Sacha.

It had appeared that he had arrived without knowing at the agency as he was deep in thought.

"I can see what that meant now. My sister recently became a big fan of Ayase-san and I hadn't seen her that happy in such a long time. She couldn't help but tease me about her though. Looks like she's thinks of her as a potential romantic interest for me." Sacha replied.

He also detected a presence behind him this time, and based on this person's ki, he identified him as the mischievous Kyoshiro Higurashi.

"Ohh? But in the end, do YOU see her as such, Sacha-ku- Whoa!"

Kyoshiro had to perform a back flip to avoid a roundhouse kick from Sacha but it had appeared that gesture only amused the blue haired bodyguard instead.

"I'll take that as a yes... It's fine, right, Motoharu? Or are you gonna forbid relationships between co-workers." Kyoshiro asked inquisitively.

"I'm not going to outright forbid it but make sure you'd still do your job properly should you engage in a romantic relationship with a coworker." Motoharu replied.

"Fufufu. With that said, you can now safely go after Ayase-san now, right, Sacha-ku- Geh!"

His teasing ended abruptly when he felt a bullet graze his cheek. When he looked at the direction the bullet came from, he saw Sacha holding a suppressed pistol and was glaring at him with killing intent.

"Sorry, my finger slipped." the blonde said nonchalantly.

"That's obviously not the case!"

"Now now, I didn't call you here to see you bickering with each other. Let's head to the meeting room, shall we. Everyone's already waiting for us."

The two men set aside their differences momentarily and obediently followed their employer to the elevator.

"But still, you really can't take a damn joke huh, Sacha-kun?" Kyoshiro mused.

"I'm used to my older sister teasing me all of the time but that doesn't mean I'll allow anybody else to act overly familiar with me specially someone whom I haven't gotten to know that well yet." Sacha replied.

"Ohh, then does that imply you'd allow me to tease you without you shooting me once we've gotten to know each other, comrade?"

"We'll see, and don't call me comrade." Sacha replied in an indifferent voice.

After arriving at the meeting room, they were greeted by the other heads of staff who seem to have been waiting for the three of them to arrive for quite some time now. Some of them, like the chef, Katsuhiro Ritu and the Fitness Instructor and Dietitian, Goto Haruko seemed to have spent the time chatting with each other. The tutor, Atsumoto Hideki, seemed to be engrossed in work as he diligently reviewed his notes.

Then there's Miyamoto Kenji who simply looked bored out of his mind and Yamanaka Kozue who seemed quite nervous being left to his own devices.

"Guh... finally. I thought for sure I was going to die of boredom." Kenji said in an exasperated voice upon our seeing our arrival.

"This time, I was the one at fault for being tardy. I didn't expect my dinner with my older sister to have taken so long." Sacha said in an apologetic voice.

"Hm... If that's the case then make sure to not do it again. I've been waiting for a couple of hours now." Kenji responded.

"You're also at fault, Kenji. Had you arrived on time instead of two hours before the designated starting time of the meeting then you wouldn't have to wait that long for us." Motoharu added.

"Tch... Guess my tendency to be overly punctual backfired on me this time. But calling an emergency meeting out of the blue was really surprising, Motoharu. I thought you were the type of person that plans ahead to avoid having to call upon emergency meetings." Said Kenji.

"Yeah, I've also been curious what's so important that we needed to stop all our preparations to make time for this meeting." Kozue said in a soft voice that could have been mistaken for muttering.

"Well, first let's all be seated, shall we?"

After everyone was seated properly in their comfortable black leather swivel chairs, the black haired producer cleared his throat before speaking.

"I somehow forgot to discuss a few things with you all during our general assembly. First of all... and this may come as a surprise to you... our agency doesn't have an official name yet."

"EHHHH!" Kozue shouted reflexively. Though once he realized what he had done, he was quick to return to his natural, barely noticeable state.

"You've gotta be kidding me, Motoharu. We're just about a stone's throw away from holding our first concert and yet we still don't have an official name?" Kenji exclaimed.

"Miyamoto-san, I don't think that's a proper way to use that idiomatic expression..." Hideki pointed out. "Still, this is quite indeed a pressing concern. I thought for sure you'll be using your name like Nakai Pro or something since you're basically our boss."

"I'm not really a narcissist enough to do something like that. Still, you guys should already be aware that I am the type of person that likes to involve the entire group when making big company decisions such as this one. This is the agency's name we're talking about so naturally every head of staff should be present to hear about the agency's name " Motoharu explained calmly.

"Yeah we appreciate your effort to be transparent and involve us in big company affairs but I hope you don't make a habit out of this. As the one running everything here and all, there are decisions you, yourself have to make." Haruko retorted.

"Actually, I may be the one tasked to supervise the operations of this Agency but technically, I am not your boss."

Motoharu dropped that bombshell in front of everyone in such a casual manner, it felt like it was some sort of sick joke. In fact, everyone seemed to have been visibly taken aback by this revelation and couldn't decide how to react to that news. Only a number of people, namely Sacha and Kyoshiro managed to keep their cool as if they already knew this was a possibility.

"You've got to be kidding me, Motoharu. You mean to tell me you've been ordering us around when you actually do not own this company?!" Kenji asked quizzically.

"Yeah, it seems a bit strange for you to take the leadership position if you do not have the qualifications yourself." Haruko added.

"Now, now. At least let him explain himself." Ritu said in a soft voice.

"As you all know by now, I have an impressive record as a freelance producer. Still, no matter how talented I am, I couldn't possibly afford to build an impressive facility such as this one."

As the producer explained himself to the group, Sacha had already pieced together the situation.

"So, long story short, some affluent person helped you out financially in order for you to afford building this facility." Sacha mused.

"Sharp as ever, I see. Well that's actually the truth. This person who became this agency's sponsor is technically your real boss. What sets him apart from other guys out there with deep pockets is he's actually rather passionate about school idols. However, since he invested a rather large amount on our agency, he wishes his identity to remain a secret to everyone until he, himself, decides to reveal it to us. For now, we shall refer to him as Sponsor-san. He actually has a few words for us."

"Huh? He's here? But I thought you said he wants to hide his identity?!" Kyoshiro said in a confused voice.

Motoharu fished out a remote control device and clicked it as he aimed it at the far end of the room where a section of the wall opened up to reveal a large flat screen TV. Displayed on the screen was a dimly lit room where a silhouette of a seated man was staring back at them.

Sacha noted how expertly hidden the man's features were since he couldn't quite point out any significant features that could help him identify their mysterious benefactor. If he had to make a guess, he's quite certain that he'll be using a device to alter his voice.

"Of course, I won't talk to you guys in person... at least not just yet, Higurashi Kyoshiro-kun. Although by now I am quite familiar with some of you already as I have been observing you all from the shadows. As Nakai Motoharu-kun had said, I am the person who funded this agency from the beginning. So technically, I am your boss and Motoharu-kun is just someone I appointed as a representative in my stead. Of course he'll also carry out his job as a producer." The person on the other side of the screen said in a deep voice, undoubtedly caused by voice alteration technology.

Kozue, who had done a splendid job passively hiding his presence from most of the people in the room timidly raised his hand to ask their shady patron a question.

"Um... excuse me, Sponsor-san? May I ask a question?" Kozue asked in a barely audible voice.

"Sponsor-san, huh? Getting called by that name would take some getting used to but anyways, you may ask away, Yamanaka Kozue."

"Well... I am curious how you got so fond of idols so much that you'd be willing to invest such a large sum of money in this project." Kozue said as firmly and loudly as he could without stuttering.

Motoharu gave him a thumbs up while mouthing the words "Good Job!' for his accomplishment.

"Ah... it does really sound strange for someone like me to get fond of idols in general. You would think that businessmen such as myself would only be interested in furthering the growth of their respective companies, businesses, and trades. But that isn't solely the case for me. You see, I have recently discovered my fondness for school idols back when μ's first joined Love Live. I have watched their struggles, failures, and triumphs and deep in my heart, I wanted to support them as much as I could. Of course, since they were still school idols at the time, all I could possibly do to show my support was to cheer on them either while watching them from the television screen in my office or personally when I went through the trouble of donning a disguise just to watch them perform in person during the finals of Love Live. Watching them give their all in what might have been their final performance only solidified my conviction to help them keep doing what they love even after the third years graduate. That is why I proposed this project to Motoharu-kun. I've known that he also supports μ's and even wants to become their producer in order to make them shine even brighter than when they were still school idols. " was Sponsor-kun's response.

Even though he was using a voice altering program, the entire staff seemed to have felt how sincere the mysterious benefactor's intentions were. Although Sacha may not have been a hundred percent sure if the man on the screen was indeed perpetuating this just to help the girls, he had to admit that he would have also been quite convinced, had he not spent all these years working in the dark side of society.

Even the cruelest of tyrants and dictators twist, bend and sweeten their words to convince the masses that their intentions are pure and good and they know what's best for them. Hence, the best thing Sacha could do for now was giving the mysterious businessman the benefit of the doubt instead of outright labeling him as a threat.

"I hope that answers your question, Kozue-kun. Now, old friend, I believe we were in the middle of coming up of announcing the name for the agency, correct?" The man on the screen addressed their intrepid leader with much familiarity.

"Right, we were just about to head there anyways. Though instead of telling them outright myself, I figured you should do the honors since you were the one who came up with that name and you own this agency to begin with. " Motoharu responded with a glint of amusement in his eyes.

At first, Sacha thought that their benefactor indirectly contacted Motoharu but judging by how familiar the two seem with each other, there's a possibility that Motoharu has met this guy in person. It is also possible that their age is close to one another. With that in mind, it's easier running down a list of potential affluent businessmen that fits what limited description of the sponsor they have.

"Very well then. Ahem." After clearing his throat while getting everyone, Sponsor-san began his explanation.

"As most of you are aware by now, μ's name was derived from the Muses of Greek Mythology. Like how there are Nine Muses, there are also nine members of μ's which made their idol unit name quite fitting. So, sticking to Greek Mythology motif of μ's, I decided to aptly name our agency as Atlas Productions." Sponsor-san explained.

Kenji immediately raised his hand to ask a question. It was evident on his face that he wasn't to keen on the name their boss decided.

"With all due respect, Sponsor-san, if we are to name our agency according to characters from Greek Mythology, wouldn't a figure related to music be more appropriate than someone that has no association to it whatsoever? Apollo, for example, would be fitting with him being a Greek god of music alongside the Muses." Kenji retorted in a surprisingly polite tone. It seems even he was intimidated by their silhouette of a sponsor for him to act with that amount of respect.

"I... have to agree with Miyamoto-san. It does seem better to associate our agency to a god of music if we are to go for a greek mythology motif. But... that's just my opinion though!" Kozue said as he fidgeted in his seat.

"Ahh. I do understand your concerns, however, what you're saying would be more appropriate for a recording company rather than an Idol Agency. Our goal as an agency isn't to produce music but to support the idols under our care. Just as the Titan Atlas bore the weight of the sky on his shoulders, we will carry their burdens, dreams, ambitions, triumphs, tribulations, and hopes on our shoulders when we finally start working together next week. That is the reason why I chose this name for our Agency." Sponsor-kun replied in a passion-filled voice.

His heartfelt speech immediately silenced all doubts of the other heads of staff about the agency's new name. In fact, some members of the staff, particularly Hideki couldn't help but get a bit teary-eyed while Haruko started outright bawling after hearing the sponsor's speech.

"Ehehe... it appears that we already have everyone's full support. With the Agency's name decided, I hereby order each head of staff to dedicate this entire week into completing preparations for our first live concert next week. Kozue and Kenji, I want the two of you to work together to speed up our technical preparations.

"I... I'll do my best, Motoharu!" Kozue stated with a rare glint of fiery determination in his eyes.

"Hmph... I always do my best, so you shouldn't worry about the technical aspect of the event Motoharu" Kenji, on the other hand, was teeming with his usual confidence.

"Haruko and Ritu, I want you to prepare the menu and facilate our various restaurants. Since the concert's going to be held at night, I want our restaurants to be ready to cater to any hungry fans we may have. "

"Gotcha!" Ritu said with a salute while beaming.

"I understand." was Haruko's serious response.

"Hideki, I advice that you start preparing lesson plans for each of the girls."

"I'm on it!" Hideki answered enthusiastically as always.

"Lastly, I want to beef up security just in time for the event so Kyoshiro and Sacha, I'd very much appreciate it if you could get your respective teams ready by that time."

"Easy peasy, Motoharu" Kyoshiro stated in a whimsical voice.

"Consider it done." Sacha declared matter-of-factly on the other hand, a stark contrast to how Kyoshiro responded.

"Sponsor-san, do you have anything more to say to us before we conclude tonight's gathering?" asked the producer.

"All I could say is if do your best in every task Motoharu-kun gave you and the success of the concert would be pretty much guaranteed. I wish you the best of luck and know that I shall be looking forward to the performance this weekend. A pleasant night to all of you." After uttering those words, the live broadcast coming from their benefactor was instantly cut-off and the flat screen TV immediately returned to its original, hidden position.

"Well you heard him. He expects a lot from us for the upcoming concert so I urge everyone to do their best even though... no... specially so since this is the first live we would hold as an agency and the first live μ's would perform as idols instead of school idols. And with that, I hereby adjourn this emergency meeting. Starting tomorrow, you are to start performing each of the individual tasks I gave you. Use the remaining time tonight to get some ample rest. Trust me, you'll need all the rest you can get for what's to come this week." Motoharu said finally before dismissing everyone.

On his way out of the building, Sacha felt someone tug at him gently from behind. Judging from this person's presence, it should have been that certain co-worker that was the polar opposite of him both in personality and work etiquette.

"Since we're both on our way out, mind if I tag along with you for a bit, Sacha-kun? C'mon, I'll even give you some canned coffee for the trouble." Kyoshiro asked in an upbeat tune before lightly tossing a can of black coffee one would usually acquire from a vending machine to Sacha. The latter caught it effortlessly in response and opened it immediately.

Although he would have preferred to immediately start getting in contact with headquarters to send him some agents he had in mind, the blond-haired, Russian secret agent decided to humor him for a while.

"Even if I refuse, you'd still tag along so what's the point." Sacha said before sipping on his coffee

"Oh! We've only known each other recently yet you already know me that much, huh?" Kyoshiro replied with an impish grin on his face.

"So, I'm guessing you want something from me, otherwise, you wouldn't have tagged along with me so forcefully like that." Sacha said as he eyed Kyoshiro suspiciously while they walked.

In response, Kyoshiro gasped as if he was genuinely hurt by Sacha's words.

"We're friends, right, Sacha-kun? Couldn't two friends just walk home together without one thinking the other person has an ulterior motive?"

"Point taken. So what is your ulterior motive?" Sacha asked inquisitively.

"Ugeh! By saying that, you not only denied that we're friends but you also suspect that I still have an ulterior motive!" Kyoshiro exclaimed. "Well, I guess you caught on to me real quick, huh? I just wanted to know if we were on the same boat about something." The blue haired bodyguard finally admitted.

"And that is?" Sacha asked nonchalantly before taking another sip of his coffee.

"Do you see any of the girls as possible romantic interest?" Kyoshiro asked in a serious voice.

Hearing the blue haired guy ask that out of the blue made Sacha spit out his drink all of a sudden.

"Why would you ask something like that all of a sudden?!" The blond demanded as he unholstered his firearm.

"Hmm... I'd take that as a yes then. And please don't point that gun at me!" Kyoshiro pleaded as he raised his arms in surrender. "If that's the case then we really are on the same boat after all." He added.

"How so. Know that I haven't said yes to anything you've said."

"You see, I've been hopelessly in love with Sonoda Umi-san ever since I first watched μ's performance while I was doing a background check on the idol group. I ended up watching every recorded performance of μ's because of her. To be honest, I was a bit jealous of you a while ago since you got to see every one of them in person." Kyoshiro admitted bashfully. "So how about you, Sacha-kun? Judging from your reaction earlier, there must have been one girl that piqued your interest."

"I can't hide anything from you, can I? I might as well admit that I'm a bit interested in Ayase Eli-san." Sacha admitted.

"I knew you were interested in her! She's pretty great too. To be honest, she's my second pick, next to Sonoda-san." Kyoshiro mused in an excited manner.

"So now that you know who I've got my eye on, I'm curious why you suddenly got interested in my preferences all of a sudden."

"Because I'd like to remind you that we were hired to protect all of those girls and not just one of them. Even though we may develop feelings for one of them, the safety of every member of μ's is still our number one priority." Kyoshiro said in a surprisingly stern voice that caught Sacha completely off-guard.

"Wha..."

"That was just a friendly reminder since you seem to be the type of guy who'll prioritize those he values first before the greater good."

There was no trace of the carefree Kyoshiro Higurashi in the blue haired boy's voice as it seemed that an entirely different entity took hold of him.

It was at that moment that Sacha knew the Kyoshiro before him right now was the guy's true personality and what he shows everyone else is nothing more than a mask that hides his true self. Witnessing this change of attitude also made the blond realize why Higurashi Kyoshiro would have been aptly ranked as a 4-Digit Agent, one of the most elite operatives of a government's defense organization, if the blue haired boy had been tied with the Japanese Ministry of Defense, "Ichigaya".

" _Then again, I shouldn't be that surprised about him considering that almost every member of his family are monsters in their own right... Though seeing that I know one of his siblings, who used to be one of my brothers-in-arms back when we were young, could Higurashi Kyoshiro already be familiar with me? I should exercise more caution from now on. Even if he is a comrade in protecting the girls, my mission might be compromised if he finds out who I truly am._ " Sacha thought.

"I'll... keep that in mind. And I certainly hope that you practice what you preach too." Sacha replied, trying to keep up with the same intensity as Kyoshiro and standing his ground.

"Great. And you don't have to worry one bit about me. Well, I'll be going home now. Long week ahead of us. As Motoharu-kun had said, we'll need all the rest we could get. Be sure to have a pleasant evening, Sacha-kun."

His voice returned to the usual enthusiastic and upbeat tune everyone had gotten accustomed to but after seeing Kyoshiro's true personality, such a voice would only seem fake to Sacha from now on.

"I guess I shouldn't have underestimated him. If he really is Kikugawa's best bodyguard then he had rightfully earned that title. On the other hand, it does assure me quite a bit of his competence. Having him as an ally would ensure this mission would go a lot smoother. I should start making preparations as well first thing tomorrow." Sacha noted as he trudged towards one of the safe houses he was using in Akihabara.

He was unsure at first whether or not his coworkers would be up to par to make the project a success particularly because of how easy-going Kyoshiro had been up until now. However, after seeing what should have been his co-chief of security's true personality, he was a bit more sure that Motoharu Nakai's dream and vision for the girls would come true.

The thought put an elusive smile on the Russian's face for a change. If he could help these girls while still accomplishing his original objective, then his visit to this country would be all the more worth it this time around.

-

Author's Notes

Gahhh! I did it again. And this time, it took longer to produce this Chapter than the previous chapter T_T The combination of academics, writer's block and lack of inspiration really affected my writing so it took longer than usual to write Chapter 3. On the other hand, this chapter must have been the longest chapter I have ever written in any fanfic I made with a total of over 9800 words. I would like to apologize again to my readers and followers for the long delay and I hope you stick with me for the rest of the ride.

I've thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter specially since the two main protagonists of the story, Eli and Sacha, finally get to meet each other for the first time! And though they may have started with the wrong foot, their relationship would only progress from here on out. We also got a glimpse of the mysterious Sponsor-san who turned out to be the Financier of the Agency and technically the true boss of our respective heads of staff. And speaking of the agency, the Agency's name was finally decided upon on this chapter. And towards the end, we also get a glimpse of Kyoshiro's true personality, revealing that he really isn't always the carefree and comedic character everyone knows him to be.

In the next chapter, μ's will finally be having their first live after disbanding one year ago when the previous third years graduated. Though along with it, they'll face the challenge of spreading their name all over again after such a long they be able to make a successful comeback? Also, what of the enemy that's after Ayase Eli's life. Will they finally make their presence a bit more known in the next chapter?

I'm afraid you'll have to find out in the next chapter.

Now it's time to put down my pen and have a quick break before working on the next installment.

I hope we'll see each other again in the next chapter!


End file.
